Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1950.
The Strum post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Tilden (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Strum is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Strum’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Strum’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Strum.
Strum was named by Congressman William T. Price for his friend, Louis Strum of Eau Claire. At first the village was called Tilden after politician Samuel J. Tilden, but on January 1, 1890, the name became officially Strum.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Strum, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 1887 the railroad reached Osseo, and plans were made for continuing the line west to Mondovi through Strum. A switch was laid at Strum in 1889. The depot was not built until 1892. An elevator and lumber yard were built near the depot.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Foster Lumber Company, of Strum, and then for two years he held the same position for their successors, the Wilson-Weber Lumber Company, and during the two following years was manager for the North Star Lumber Company, successors to the Wilson-Weber Lumber Company. In 1908 he assisted in organizing the First State Bank of Strum, of which he has since been a director. He was its vice-president for two years and since Jan. 1, 1916, has held the office of president. Jan. 1, 1911, he became treasurer of the Unity Co-Operative Creamery and still holds that position. He was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Strum. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Strum.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Strum’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 542 and 1,114 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Strum’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Strum itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Strum’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Tilden, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Strum post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Strum is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
10% of Strum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1972.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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