The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Gayville was originally settled chiefly by Scandinavian farmers. A post office was established as White Hall in 1870, renamed Boreman in 1872, and again renamed Gayville in 1873. The present name honors Elkanah Gay, an early postmaster. Gayville was a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Gayville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gayville’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Gayville, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Gayville is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Gayville has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is William Andre House in Meckling, 2.3 miles away.
Gayville and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Gayville. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. William Andre House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Gayville?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Gayville’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.