Nelson, Wisconsin
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1932 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Nelson town. It lies in ZIP code area 54756. It stands on By Golly Creek. The Survey maps it on the Wabasha North quadrangle. 574 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 827 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1932 USGS Wabasha quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Wabasha quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Saint Paul quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS St. Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Saint Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS St. Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Wabasha North quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Rochester quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Rochester quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
910 words on this townshipHistory of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, published 1888 names this settlement in its chapter on Nelson Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
There are at present two postoffices in the town, Nelson and Misha Mokwa. The exact date of the establishment of Nelson post office I was unable to to learn, but as E. A. Warner was the first postmaster, it was not established before 1858 as he had come but a short time before. Nor can I give the exact date when it was transferred to Ed.Giebel, who at that time kept store near the old Farmers' Home Tavern. J. P. Butler, the present postmaster, was appointed July 28, 1886. The office is now kept in the village of Fairview near the railroad station of
Passage source: History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, published 1888.
Besides this village there are now two others laid out in this town besides an addition. The first in point of time is Fairview, about half a mile northwest of Nelson station, the plat of which was recorded Sept. 5, 1884, in Vol. 33, page.
Passage source: History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, published 1888.
The Village of Nelson is laid out adjacent to the station of the Burlington and Northern railroad. Misha Mokwa contains a gristmill, one store and one hotel besides other houses. Fairview has several saloons, one store and one blacksmith shop, Nelson one store, one hotel and two saloons, besides "warehouses, depot, coalmagazine, and, I think, the schoolhouse of Dist. No. 5 and a Catholic church, which is not yet completed.
Passage source: History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin, published 1888.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Nelson Town - it names this place 1 more 1 time.
Fires near this place
2 since 2018Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Nelson between 2018 and 2020, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2021008 |
| 28 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2018007 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 19 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Nelson: 8 occurrences, 7 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own Crews | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Buffalo Slough Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Deer Creek Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Lake Pepin Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Wabasha Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Winona S & G Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Center Creek Road Dolomite Deposit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Deer Creek Shale Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Dry Coulee Limestone Deposit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Freiheit Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
39 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nelson in 39 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 25 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | 2 hurt, $85,000 | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Nelson | $30,000 | Egg sized hail fell near Nelson. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $30,000 | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $15,000 | Public reported fallen powerlines and power outages near Nelson. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Hail | Nelson | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $2,000 | Signs were blown off a gas station near Nelson from an estimated 50 mph wind gust. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $2,000 | Trees were blown down between Alma and Nelson. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | $750 | no account filed |
| April 2026 | Hail | Nelson | - | Local fire and rescue reported ping pong ball sized hail 2 miles northwest of Nelson. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Nelson | - | A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail in Nelson. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Nelson | - | The local fire department in Nelson reported half dollar sized hail 2 miles north-northwest of Nelson. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Nelson | - | A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail near Nelson. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Nelson | - | The local fire department in Nelson reported hail up to quarter size 2 miles northwest of Nelson. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Nelson | - | A trained spotter reported nickel sized hail in Wabasha. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Nelson | - | Quarter sized hail fell in Nelson. |
| July 2017 | Heavy Rain | Nelson | - | In Nelson, 7 inches of rain fell. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Nelson | - | Half dollar sized hail fell in Nelson. |
| September 2010 | Heavy Rain | Nelson | - | The storm total rainfall amounted to 7.50 inches. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Nelson | - | Penny size hail was reported. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| March 1998 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Nelson | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misha Mokwa | 5.3 miles | 16 | |
| Savoy (historical) | 7.3 miles | 13 | |
| Maxville | 7.7 miles | 13 | |
| Tell | 8.0 miles | 19 | |
| Urne | 8.2 miles | 19 | |
| Alma | 8.5 miles | 20 | |
| Modena | 11.5 miles | 19 | |
| Herold | 11.8 miles | 19 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Nelson | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2511047 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1570152. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








