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History · Wagner

Wagner’s post office opened in 1897, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1963 on.

1897first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wagner’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wagner began

When was Wagner founded?

1897

The Wagner post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, McAllister (1895) and Goll (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 653129 years
Founding year: the first Wagner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wagner’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wagner, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wagner had its own post office from 1897 to 1934. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

McAllister
1895–1966
Goll
1896–1913
Wagner
1897–1934
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GollMcAllisterPackard
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wagner
Saint EdwardsTabor Lutheran

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

The story

How Wagner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wagner.

Read it all →

The Town of Wagner comprises numerous other settlements, including Bar, Goll, Kinsman, McAllister, Newton, Packard, and Wagner. Wagner was created in 1915, when residents east of Middle Inlet sought separation from Porterfield. The first county board supervisor was Joseph Wagner (1850–1925), whom the town is named after.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wagner, 1895 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895Post officeThe McAllister post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Goll post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe Wagner post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1913Post officeThe Goll post office closes
  7. 1934Post officeThe Wagner post office closes
  8. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1966Post officeThe McAllister post office closes
  10. 1968In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER LATERAL CONNECTION - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Br…
By decade

Wagner, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s6 items
DETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER LATERAL CONNECTION - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning Menominee River…1968DETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER LATERAL CONNECT…DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNECTION OF LONG TRUSS - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning …1968DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNEC…DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNECTION OF SHORT TRUSS, OUTSIDE - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge,…1968DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNEC…DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNECTION ON SHORT TRUSS, INSIDE - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, …1968DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND INCLINED END POST CONNEC…DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND POST CONNECTION ON SHORT TRUSS - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning Menominee Ri…1968DETAIL VIEW OF TOP CHORD AND POST CONNECTION ON SHORT…VIEW OF NORTH APPROACH - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning Menominee River, on County Trunk Highway "JJ", Wa…1968VIEW OF NORTH APPROACH - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad …
1970s–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

Wagner on the map, 1963 to 1982

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

Wagner on the 1963 USGS mapWagner on the 1982 USGS map1963Stephenson 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 Wagner.

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.

DETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER LATERAL CONNECTION - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning Menominee River…
Retake this viewDETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER LATERAL CONNECTION - Wisconsin-Michigan Railroad Bridge, Spanning Menominee River…, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Wagner

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

See all →
Lyle MaysAmerican jazz musician · b. 1953
Dan HaggertyAmerican actor · b. 1942
A
Arthur GardnerProducer and actor from the United States · b. 1910
Tom PetriAmerican politician · b. 1940
John HubleyAmerican animation director, art director, prod… · b. 1914
J
Judy NeratAmerican politician · b. 1948
Help out

Finish Wagner’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDETAIL VIEW OF BOTTOM CHORD AND LOWER L…: 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.

Middle InletIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPorterfieldIts storyCLakeIts storyC+Wausaukee1 historic placeC+

Questions about Wagner’s history

What year was Wagner founded?

The Wagner post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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, 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.