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History · Alban

Alban’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Alban. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Alban is a town in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 863 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Alban is located within the town. The town was named after Civil War Colonel James S. Alban, a state senator in the early 1850s lost in the Battle of Shiloh. The Township is Town 25 North, Range 10 East, 4th Principal Meridian.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 885 to 863 (-2%). Half of its homes were built before 1970.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alban yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Alban’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alban’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from AlbanWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Alban.Meet them →
By decade

Alban, decade by decade

Before
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 album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Alban is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Alban has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is John Gilbert Rosholt House in Rosholt, 1.6 miles away.

Alban and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Alban. Tap a dot.
John Gilbert Rosholt HouseNew Hope Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church and CemeteryRising Star Flouring MillWipf, J. & C., MillsL. A. Pomeroy HouseTigerton Village Hall and Engine House

Closest to Alban

John Gilbert Rosholt HouseRosholt · Built 19061.6miNew Hope Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church and CemeteryNew Hope · Building8.3miRising Star Flouring MillNelsonville · Built 18679.8miWipf, J. & C., MillsIola · District11.2miL. A. Pomeroy HouseAmherst · Built 190412.7mi

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. John Gilbert Rosholt House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Alban?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Alban’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National 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.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Rosholt📜 Harrison📜 New Hope📜 Franzen
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Alban, WIPortage CountyView boundary

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Alban is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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