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–Not graded
History · Unity

31% of Unity’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1910.

0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Unity’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Unity’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Unity’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Unity’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 viewBrids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Unity, in brief

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

Unity is a village in Clark and Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 384 at the 2020 census. Of this, 233 were in Marathon County, and 151 were in Clark County. The village is located in northeastern town of Unity in Clark County and northwestern town of Brighton in Marathon County.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 878 to 751 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Unity, 1912 to 1967

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912In the archiveBrids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis
  3. 1916Post officeThe Riplinger post office opens
  4. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1967Post officeThe Riplinger post office closes
By decade

Unity, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Brids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis1912Brids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis
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
Today3 recent
Unity Village Hall2025Unity Village HallUnity Wisconsin Sign WIS132012Unity Wisconsin Sign WIS13Unity Wisconsin Downtown Looking West2012Unity Wisconsin Downtown Looking West
On the map

Unity on the map, 1963 to 1981

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

Unity on the 1963 USGS mapUnity on the 1981 USGS map1963Abbotsford 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 Unity.

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.

Brids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis
Retake this viewBrids [sic] eye view of Unity, Wis, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Unity, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 452

Between 286 and 452 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Unity

Nobody well known was born in Unity itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dave DudleyAmerican musician · b. 1928
George Washington BlanchardAmerican politician · b. 1884
J
Jerome P. TheisenAmerican Benedictine monk · b. 1930
Mary LazichAmerican politician · b. 1952
Michael PhairCanadian politician · b. 1950
T
Tyler DennettAmerican historian · b. 1883
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Riplinger
Gone or out of use
Groveside SchoolschoolMaplewood SchoolschoolSunshine SchoolschoolWillow Brook Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Unity
Saint Johns

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.

ColbyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrightonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShermanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeaverIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Unity’s history

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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.