Hannibal, Wisconsin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hannibal, Wisconsin
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Approaching from north on highway 73.
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 Hannibal, Wisconsin
Location in Wisconsin
Hannibal, Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Wisconsin |
| County | Taylor |
| Elevation | 386 m (1,266 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
54439
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| Area code(s) | 715 & 534 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1566040 |
Hannibal is a small, quiet place in Taylor County, Wisconsin, USA. It's not a big city or town, but a community without its own local government. You can find Hannibal along Wisconsin Highway 73 and County Highway M. It's north of a place called Gilman. Long ago, Hannibal was a very busy spot. It was a center for business where two important logging railroads met.
Contents
History of Hannibal
How Hannibal Started
Hannibal began to grow around 1903. A railroad called the Stanley, Merrill and Phillips Railway built tracks through the forests. It reached the spot where Hannibal is now. The railroad owners named this stop "Hannibal." They chose this name because they used to have a business in Hannibal, Missouri.
Soon after, another railroad, the Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and Northeastern Railway (also known as Omaha), came through Hannibal. It built tracks from the west. Both railroads shared a train station, called a depot, where their tracks crossed. These were special railroads. They were built mainly to carry logs out of the thick forests. This was a big part of Wisconsin's early history, known as logging.
A Busy Logging Town
The very first building in Hannibal was a simple boxcar next to the railroad tracks. But a small town quickly grew up around the crossing. There were sawmills to cut wood. There were also places like the Kearney hotel and a dance hall. Another hotel, a grade school, and a livery stable (where horses were kept) opened.
You could also find a blacksmith shop (for metalwork) and a shoe shop. There was a meat market and two general stores, Burss's and Keefer's. By 1910, all these businesses were open. They mostly served the people working in the logging camps nearby.
The Boom and Decline
In 1912, a company called "Hannibal Manufacturing Company" started. It made things like lath (thin strips of wood), shingles (for roofs), and parts for wagon wheels. At its busiest, this factory ran all day and night. It employed about 30 men.
In 1913, a Presbyterian church was built. The Guinn Brothers store also opened, and it had an opera house upstairs! But this was probably the best time for Hannibal. A fire in 1913 destroyed some businesses. The Hannibal Manufacturing Company closed in 1916.
As most of the big trees were cut down, the logging railroads were no longer needed. The Stanley, Merrill and Phillips Railway closed in 1934. The Omaha railroad stopped running in 1939.
New Beginnings and Quiet Times
Even though logging ended, the lumber companies sold the cleared land to families. So, farming began to replace logging. A place to collect cream opened in Hannibal in 1915. A Farmers Union Feed Store opened in 1923. There was even a cheese factory that operated from 1924 to about 1945.
A high school opened in Hannibal in 1937. Students could attend for four years. It stayed open until 1955. After that, the building became a grade school until the 1990s. Today, it is a Baptist church.
Larmon's store and a gas station also stayed open into the 1990s. But the town's post office closed on May 25, 2011. Now, there are no businesses left in Hannibal. You will only find homes and the two churches. The once-busy boom town is now usually very quiet.
