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History · Superior

Superior dates to 1853, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.

1853founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
45famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Superior’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Superior began

When was Superior founded?

1853

Superior dates its founding to 1853 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 11,983 in 18902020 census: 677173 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Superior’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 40,384 in 1910; 26,751 people lived here in 2020.Famous sons and daughtersOliver E. Williamson, Jeffrey Williams and 43 more were born here.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1914, drew every building in Superior.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Superior’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeneral John Henry Hammond with founder…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Superior, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 40,384

Peaked at 40,384 in 1910; 26,751 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

45 famous people were born in Superior

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Oliver E. WilliamsonAmerican economist · b. 1932
Jeffrey WilliamsAmerican astronaut · b. 1958
Richard BongUnited States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1920
Marian NixonActress · b. 1904
Lewis B. SchwellenbachSecretary of Labor · b. 1894
Bud GrantAmerican football player and head coach · b. 1927
The story

How Superior came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Superior.

Read it all →

The first log cabin in Superior was erected in September 1853 on the banks of the Nemadji River, at the same time that ground was broken for construction of the locks and ship canal at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This was intended to allow ships to bypass the rapids at that site. Superior was founded as a settlement in 1854. A village government was organized on August 27, 1887, and Superior was incorporated as a city on March 25, 1889. Around the same time Superior became the seat of newly formed Douglas County, Wisconsin. Immediately there was eagerness for a railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast, and investment flowed in, but then the Panic of 1857 hit, investment slowed, and the population of the new city collapsed from 2500 to 500.

ChaptersPre-settlement contextSurvey and founding (1853–1854)Early settlement and immigration (1854–1870)Early newspapers and civic institutions (1860s–1870s)Faith and religious institutions (1854–1870s)Economic rivalry and setback (1870s)Renewed development and incorporation (1880–1889)Growth, eastern investment, and the Panic of 1893 (1890–1900)

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Superior, 1853 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingSuperior is established
  3. 1886In the archiveGeneral John Henry Hammond with founders of
  4. 1890In the archiveGeneral John Henry Hammond
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904Born hereMarian Nixon is born here
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 40,384
  8. 1920Born hereRichard Bong is born here
  9. 1932Born hereOliver E. Williamson is born here
  10. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1958Born hereJeffrey Williams is born here
By decade

Superior, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s4 items
General John Henry Hammond with founders of1886General John Henry Hammond with founders ofAmethyst1888AmethystGeneral John Henry Hammond1890General John Henry HammondChristopher Columbus whaleback ccengine rectifiedc. 1892Christopher Columbus whaleback ccengine rectified
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Superior on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Superior on the 1954 USGS mapSuperior on the 1969 USGS mapSuperior on the 1975 USGS mapSuperior on the 1983 USGS mapSuperior on the 1993 USGS map1954Superior 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 Superior.

Every building

Superior, building by building, 1884–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Superior fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

General John Henry Hammond with founders of
Retake this viewGeneral John Henry Hammond with founders of, 1886

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Superior’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Superior Village

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Superior’s history

What year was Superior founded?

In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 11,983 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.