2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 10 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1859 on and old-book passages.
From Trempealeau’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Trempealeau began
When was Trempealeau founded?
1852
The Trempealeau post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Montoville (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,843174 years
How historic is Trempealeau?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Trempealeau post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Trempealeau’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Trempealeau is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Trempealeau’s overall grade.
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 Trempealeau’s 59.0 sits above most of its state (90% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
An ancient Native American site with earthwork mounds, also known as Trempealeau, has been studied near the village through archaeological excavations in the 21st century. It is theorized as a possible mission site or colony of Cahokia, the major center of Mississippian culture from 1000CE to 1450CE located 500 miles to the south in present-day Illinois near St. Louis, Missouri.
Passages that mention Trempealeau, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 262Read the page →
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The project which resulted in the building of the first railroad in Trempealeau County had its beginning March 6, 1857 (Chapter 280, Private Laws of 1857), when the Wisconsin legislature granted a charter to a company called the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott Railroad Company (also known as the La Crosse, Trempealeau, Lake Pepin & Prescott Railroad Company), to locate and build a line along the east bank of the Mississippi from La Crosse to Prescott, Wis., by way of Trempealeau and Fountain City. The first board of directors consisted of P. V. Wise, 0. T.
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History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 143Read the page →
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Thomas Drugan was perhaps the first Irish settler in Trempealeau County. He came to Trempealeau in 1853 and settled on a farm in the town of Trempealeau. At that time Trempealeau was a part of La Crosse County.
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Biographical history of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo counties, Wisconsin1892 · page 776Read the page →
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of 1855 the family removed to La Crescent, Minnesota, and a short time after to Onalaska, Wisconsin. In 1856, Mr. Trowbridge settled in what is now the town of Trempealeau, Trempealeau county. On Decembei- 5, 1863, he was fatally injured by falling from a barn that he was constructing. It is a somewhat remarkable coincidence that his wife also died
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Biographical history of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo counties, Wisconsin1892 · page 740Read the page →
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The subject of sketch and his brother, William, came to this country in 1854, and after a residence of two years in New York John came to Trempealeau county. He spent one summer in the town of Trempealeau, and since then Gale township has been his home.
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.
Timeline
Trempealeau, 1852 to 1908
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Trempealeau post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Trempealeau rank for history?
Trempealeau is more historic than 62% 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.
What is on the National Register in Trempealeau?
Two places: the Coman House (listed 1984) and the Main Street Historic District (1984).
How old are the homes in Trempealeau?
12% of Trempealeau’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1908
1908
1908