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History · Star Prairie

Star Prairie’s post office opened in 1857

Most of Star Prairie was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1910.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Star Prairie began

When was Star Prairie founded?

1857

The Star Prairie post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 253 in 19102020 census: 678169 years
Founding year: the first Star Prairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Star Prairie’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Star Prairie’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

Star Prairie, in brief

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

Star Prairie is a village in St. Croix County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 678 at the 2020 census. The village is located along the Apple River on the boundary between the Town of Star Prairie and the Town of Stanton.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 561 to 678 (+21%).

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

Timeline

Star Prairie, 1857 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Star Prairie post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Star Prairie post office closes
  4. 1868Post officeThe Star Prairie post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1961Post officeThe Star Prairie post office closes
By decade

Star Prairie, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Water tower2025Water towerPost Office2025Post OfficeCommunity Center2025Community CenterBusinesses on Main Street2025Businesses on Main StreetStar Prairie Town Hall 022024Star Prairie Town Hall 02Star Prairie Town Hall 012024Star Prairie Town Hall 01
On the map

Star Prairie on the map, 1948 to 1974

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

Star Prairie on the 1948 USGS mapStar Prairie on the 1974 USGS map1948New Richmond 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 Star Prairie.

People over time

Star Prairie, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020678

Grew from 253 people in 1910 to 678 in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Star Prairie had its own post office from 1857 to 1858. Another post office, Star Prairie, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Star Prairie
1857–1858
Star Prairie
1868–1961
18501940today

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.

StantonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAldenIts storyC

Questions about Star Prairie’s history

What year was Star Prairie founded?

The Star Prairie post office opened in 1857, 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 →
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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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.