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History · Tomahawk

Tomahawk dates to 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Tomahawk was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1890.

1891founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tomahawk’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tomahawk began

When was Tomahawk founded?

1891

Tomahawk dates its founding to 1891 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,816 in 18902020 census: 458135 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1900.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tomahawk’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1908, drew every building in Tomahawk.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tomahawk’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Tomahawk, building by building, 1892–1908

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.

Tomahawk fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Tomahawk came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tomahawk.

Read it all →

Before 1837, the land where Tomahawk is now situated belonged to the Ojibwe, who traded actively with fur traders such as the American Fur Company and the Northwest Company. After the 1837 cession, the practical situation changed only slightly: the federal survey teams had not arrived yet, logging activity was still light, and Ojibwe continued to actively occupy the general area. There was a village just north of the modern Tomahawk, in the vicinity of modern Bradley, and a village on Skanawan Creek. The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe created the reservations at Lac du Flambeau, Lac Courte Oreilles and Bad River. Even after this treaty, the region was largely public domain land and the treaties allowed the Ojibwe usufructory rights to hunt, fish, gather wild rice and make maple sugar. Some Ojibwe received their annuity payments in Wausau until the payments ended in 1874. By that time mo…

ChaptersFrenchtown

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tomahawk, 1891 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891
    FoundingTomahawk is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Spirit Falls post office opens
  5. 1909Born hereCarl R. Eklund is born here
  6. 1929In the archiveBradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078)
  7. 1952Born hereMike Webster is born here
  8. 1952Post officeThe Spirit Falls post office closes
  9. 1963Born hereJay Leggett is born here
  10. 1963Born hereMary Czaja is born here
  11. 1978On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tomahawk, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Bradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078)1929Bradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078)
1930s–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
Today5 recent
Tomahawk Wisconsin City Hall Police Station2011Tomahawk Wisconsin City Hall Police StationTomahawk Leader Building Wisconsin2011Tomahawk Leader Building WisconsinTomahawk Downtown Looking East2011Tomahawk Downtown Looking EastGreetings from Tomahawk, Wisconsin - Large Letter Postcard2011Greetings from Tomahawk, Wisconsin - Large Letter Pos…Document2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Tomahawk on the map, 1978 to 1990

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

Tomahawk on the 1978 USGS mapTomahawk on the 1990 USGS map1978Spirit Falls 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 Tomahawk.

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.

Bradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078)
Retake this viewBradley Park, Tourist Site (NBY 9078), 1929

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 4 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Tomahawk, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,770

Between 1,816 and 3,770 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Tomahawk

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

See all →
Jay LeggettAmerican actor, improvisational comedian, produ… · b. 1963
Mike WebsterAmerican football player · b. 1952
Carl R. EklundAmerican ornithologist · b. 1909
M
Mary CzajaAmerican politician in Wisconsin · b. 1963
David ClaerbautSports writer · b. 1946
M
Merton W. BakerUnited States general · b. 1924
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Spirit Falls, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Spirit Falls
Gone or out of use
Gladfelter SchoolschoolMission ChurchchurchMitchell SchoolschoolSpirit Falls Schoolschool

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.

CorningIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBradleyIts storyC−SomoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHardingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpirit1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tomahawk’s history

What year was Tomahawk founded?

In 1891, according to Wikidata. Tomahawk’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1890 counted 1,816 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 (6), 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.