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C+History
History · Trenton

Trenton’s post office opened in 1856, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1944 on.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Trenton began

When was Trenton founded?

1856

The Trenton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Moeville (1891) and North Red Wing (1945), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,911170 years

How historic is Trenton?

C+

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Trenton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Trenton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Trenton is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Trenton’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.0% of homes (±5.1) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder

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 Trenton’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 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 →

What stands out about Trenton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Trenton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Trenton, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Trenton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Trenton had its own post office from 1856 to 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Trenton
1856–1890
Hager City
1887–today
Moeville
1891–1902
North Red Wing
1945–1945
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hager CityMoevilleNorth Red WingPucketville
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Trenton
Bethel Mission CovenantBethlehem LutheranSvea LutheranTrenton

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

The story so far

Trenton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Trenton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Trenton is a town in Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,911 at the time of the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Hager City, and the unincorporated communities of North Red Wing, Pucketville, and Trenton are located in the town. The unincorporated communities of Moeville and Snows Corner are also located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,829 to 1,911 (+4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Trenton, 1856 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Trenton post office opens
  3. 1868Born hereWalter C. Owen is born here
  4. 1883Born hereClarence R. Magney is born here
  5. 1887Post officeThe Hager City post office opens
  6. 1890Post officeThe Trenton post office closes
  7. 1891Post officeThe Moeville post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902Post officeThe Moeville post office closes
  10. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Trenton on the map, 1944 to 1994

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

Trenton on the 1944 USGS mapTrenton on the 1952 USGS mapTrenton on the 1974 USGS mapTrenton on the 1994 USGS map1944Red Wing sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Trenton.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Trenton

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

See all →
Walter C. OwenAmerican politician, jurist · b. 1868
Clarence R. MagneyAmerican politician · b. 1883
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HartlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDiamond BluffIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTrimbelleIts storyC+

Questions about Trenton’s history

What year was Trenton founded?

The Trenton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Trenton rank for history?

Trenton is more historic than 35% 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.

How old are the homes in Trenton?

15% of Trenton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.