Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1970.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilson’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wilson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wilson is a town in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 427 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Wilson is located in the town.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 485 to 427 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Wilson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Wilson Park, near the postoffice, was given to tlie city as "Court House Square" at an early period by the Eau Claire Lumber Company. When the new court house was erected on the west side on grounds donated by Hon. 0. H. Ingram, the temporary buildings were removed and the place called Wilson Park, in honor of an esteemed early citizen whose energy did much to lay the foundation of prosperity in the young city.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Wilson and Masters, who came from the office of Hoard's Dairyman at Fort Atkinson and assumed control. They made a success of the paper and continued in charge until 1907, when Mr.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wilson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wilson.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wilson’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 420 and 516 people in every census since 1970.
5 censuses, 1970–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wilson’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Wilson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
1850
2023
2004