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History · Willard

Half of Willard’s homes were built after 1986

Most of Willard was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1971 on.

0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Willard’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 Willard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Willard’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Willard’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
The story so far

Willard, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 505 to 525 (+4%).

Timeline

Willard, 1901 to 1971

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Roy post office opens
  3. 1907Post officeThe Roy post office closes
  4. 1971On 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

Willard on the map, 1971 to 1980

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

Willard on the 1971 USGS mapWillard on the 1980 USGS map1971Ladysmith SE 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 Willard.

Famous people

Famous people close to Willard

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

See all →
Ron KovicAnti-war activist · b. 1946
Lois CappsAmerican politician and writer · b. 1938
Jim LeonhardAmerican football player and coach · b. 1982
B
Beverley AndersonAmerican alpine skier · b. 1938
M
Mark HayesAmerican composer · b. 1953
M
Mike NewkirkPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Gone or out of use
Roy SchoolschoolWilson 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.

GrantIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarshallIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Willard’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 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.