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A−History
History · Superior

Superior dates to 1853, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #83 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

15 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.

1853founded
15on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
36famous 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: 26,751173 years

How historic is Superior?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Superior’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Superior is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #83 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Superior’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.6% of homes (±2.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register15 listings, 23 historic buildings, 8.6 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 77%

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 Superior’s 8.6 sits above most of its state (74% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →

What stands out about Superior’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Superior, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register15 places on the National Register.Boom and bustPeaked at 40,384 in 1910; 26,751 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1914, drew every building in Superior.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Superior’s post office has been open since 1854. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Superior
1854–today
South Superior
1890–1903
Saint Louis
1891–1899
Itasca
1895–1903
Allouez
1899–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllouezBillings ParkCentral ParkEast EndItascaPark Place HomesSouth Superior
Gone or out of use
Ericsson SchoolschoolItasca Public SchoolschoolSaints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Superior
NemadjiSaint Francis

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

On the National Register

15 historic places in Superior

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
15
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
23
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Trade and Commerce Building
Trade and Commerce Building, built 1890Martin Pattison HouseNew Jersey Building, built 1889New York Block, built 1890Northern BlockSuperior Entry South Breakwater Light, built 1913METEOR (whaleback carrier)Douglas County Courthouse, built 1919Berkshire Block, built 1890Empire Block, built 1892Maryland Block, built 1892Minnesota Block-Board of Trade Bldg.Washington Block, built 1891Wemyss BuildingRoosevelt Terrace, built 1890
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque Revival3
Romanesque3
Richardsonian Romanesque2
American Queen Anne1
Victorian Romanesque1
Victorian Romanesque Revival1
Trade and Commerce BuildingRichardsonian Romanesque · Built 1890
Martin Pattison HouseAmerican Queen Anne
New Jersey BuildingVictorian Romanesque · Built 1889
New York BlockVictorian Romanesque Revival · Built 1890
Northern BlockRomanesque Revival
Superior Entry South Breakwater LightBuilt 1913
METEOR (whaleback carrier)Structure
All 15 listings
Douglas County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1982Berkshire BlockBuilding · listed 1985Empire BlockBuilding · listed 1985Maryland BlockBuilding · listed 1985Minnesota Block-Board of Trade Bldg.Building · listed 1985Washington BlockBuilding · listed 1985Wemyss BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Roosevelt TerraceBuilding · listed 2005

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

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.

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 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 1932

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. 1854Post officeThe Superior post office opens
  4. 1886In the archiveGeneral John Henry Hammond with founders of
  5. 1889BuiltNew Jersey Building is built
  6. 1890BuiltTrade and Commerce Building is built
  7. 1890BuiltNew York Block is built
  8. 1890In the archiveGeneral John Henry Hammond
  9. 1890Post officeThe South Superior post office opens
  10. 1891Post officeThe Saint Louis post office opens
  11. 1899Post officeThe Saint Louis post office closes
  12. 20th century
  13. 1903Post officeThe South Superior post office closes
  14. 1904Born hereMarian Nixon is born here
  15. 1909In the archiveSuperior WI Grand Opera House postcard
  16. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 40,384
  17. 1913BuiltSuperior Entry South Breakwater Light is built
  18. 1918In the archiveGlobe Shipbuilding Company Baseball Team June 29 1918
  19. 1920Born hereRichard Bong is born here
  20. 1932Born hereOliver E. Williamson is born here
By decade

Superior, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s7 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 rectifiedPg 68 Hotel1893Pg 68 HotelPg 68 Superior docks1893Pg 68 Superior docksGreat Northern Elevator, Duluth, Minn1898Great Northern Elevator, Duluth, Minn
1900s–1910s2 items
Superior WI Grand Opera House postcard1909Superior WI Grand Opera House postcardPostcardGlobe Shipbuilding Company Baseball Team June 29 19181918Globe Shipbuilding Company Baseball Team June 29 1918
1920s–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
Famous people

36 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
Help out

Finish Superior’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ParklandIts storyB−

Questions about Superior’s history

What year was Superior founded?

In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Superior’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1890 counted 11,983 people here.

How does Superior rank for history?

Superior is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #83 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.

What is on the National Register in Superior?

15 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Trade and Commerce Building (listed 1979, the first), and 2 structures. 23 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Superior?

36% of Superior’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1957.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 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.