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History · Wausau

Wausau’s post office opened in 1892

Most of Wausau was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1970.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Wausau began

When was Wausau founded?

1892

The Wausau post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 288 in 19702020 census: 371134 years
Founding year: the first Wausau post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wausau’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wausau’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIn the Florida Panhandle, a monument to…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Wausau, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wausau yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wausau is a town in Washington County, Florida, United States. The Town of Wausau is part of the Florida Panhandle in North Florida. The population was 371 at the 2020 census, down from 383 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Panama City–Panama City Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 383 to 371 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wausau, 1892 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Wausau post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980In the archiveIn the Florida Panhandle, a monument to the lowly opossom. Wausau, Florida
By decade

Wausau, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
In the Florida Panhandle, a monument to the lowly opossom. Wausau, Florida1980In the Florida Panhandle, a monument to the lowly opo…
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Wausau FL post office012010Wausau FL post office01FLMap-doton-Wausau2004FLMap-doton-Wausau
On the map

Wausau on the map, 1950 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wausau. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wausau on the 1950 USGS mapWausau on the 1982 USGS mapWausau on the 1994 USGS map1950Wausau sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wausau.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

In the Florida Panhandle, a monument to the lowly opossom. Wausau, Florida
Retake this viewIn the Florida Panhandle, a monument to the lowly opossom. Wausau, Florida, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wausau’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wausau, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 398

Between 288 and 398 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wausau’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Wausau’s history

What year was Wausau founded?

The Wausau post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.