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History · Somo

Somo’s post office opened in 1892, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1979 on.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Somo began

When was Somo founded?

1892

The Somo post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 123134 years
Founding year: the first Somo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Somo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Somo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Somo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Somo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Somo, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Somo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Somo is a town in Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 123 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Clifford and Tripoli are located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 114 to 123 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Somo, 1892 to 1979

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Somo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Somo post office closes
  5. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Somo on the map in 1979

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Somo.

Somo on the 1979 USGS map1979Brantwood sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Somo.

Famous people

Famous people close to Somo

Nobody well known was born in Somo itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dennis MorganAmerican actor · b. 1908
Jay LeggettAmerican actor, improvisational comedian, produ… · b. 1963
Mike WebsterAmerican football player · b. 1952
Carl R. EklundAmerican ornithologist · b. 1909
Donal HordAmerican artist · b. 1902
J
Jane Edward SchillingAmerican activist, historian, and university ad… · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Somo had its own post office from 1892 to 1906.

Somo
1892–1906
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Harmony Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Somo
Somo

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Tomahawk1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLynneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKnox1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Somo’s history

What year was Somo founded?

The Somo post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.