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History · Hampden

Hampden’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Hampden. 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

Hampden is a town in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 581 at the 2020 census.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 574 people in 2010, 581 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hampden 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 Hampden’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Hampden

See all 21 →
Sean AndersSean AndersDeForest · 11 miWBWill ButcherSun Prairie · 11 miKyle KlubertanzKyle KlubertanzSun Prairie · 11 miOscar RennebohmOscar RennebohmLeeds · 6 miChelsea SodaroChelsea SodaroDeForest · 11 miJohn M. NelsonJohn M. NelsonBurke · 14 mi
By decade

Hampden, 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 Hampden is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Hampden has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Holsten Family Farmstead in Columbus, 6.2 miles away.

Hampden and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Hampden. Tap a dot.
Holsten Family FarmsteadDix Street-Warner Street Historic DistrictE. Clarke and Julia Arnold HouseColumbus Fireman's Park ComplexFrances Kurth Sharrow HousePrairie Street Historic District

Closest to Hampden

Holsten Family FarmsteadColumbus · Building6.2miDix Street-Warner Street Historic DistrictColumbus · District7.4miE. Clarke and Julia Arnold HouseColumbus · Built 19567.4miColumbus Fireman's Park ComplexColumbus · Built 19237.7miFrances Kurth Sharrow HouseColumbus · Built 19167.8mi

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. Holsten Family Farmstead’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Hampden?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Hampden’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
📜 Columbus📜 Otsego📜 Bristol📜 Leeds
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Hampden, WIColumbia CountyView boundary

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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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