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–Not graded
History · Spooner

11% of Spooner’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1910.

0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Spooner’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 Spooner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spooner’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Spooner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Spooner.

Read it all →

Originally a town in 1889, and officially incorporated as a city in 1909, Spooner's history is closely interlaced with that of railroad history. In 1879, the North Wisconsin Railway was constructed north of the present-day city of Spooner. Following that, the operations of that railroad were moved south where it joined the Chicago and North Western at what was then called Chicago Junction.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Spooner, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Wisconsin wilderness2014Wisconsin wildernessGreetings from Spooner, Wisconsin, In the Heart of Indian Head Country - Large Letter Postcard2013Greetings from Spooner, Wisconsin, In the Heart of In…DocumentWashburn county WI Spooner IMG 16552012Washburn county WI Spooner IMG 1655Washburn county WI Spooner IMG 16512012Washburn county WI Spooner IMG 1651Washburn county WI Spooner IMG 16502012Washburn county WI Spooner IMG 1650
On the map

Spooner on the map, 1965 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spooner. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Spooner on the 1965 USGS mapSpooner on the 1982 USGS map1965Spooner sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

Spooner, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,682

Between 1,453 and 2,682 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Spooner’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Spooner Municipal Airportairport

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.

EvergreenIts storyC−TregoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrystalIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeaver BrookIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Spooner’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.