–Not graded

History · Fort Atkinson

Fort Atkinson’s post office opened in 1846, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Fort Atkinson Bridge. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.

1846first post office

1on the National Register

36%homes built before 1940

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Quick answers

How Fort Atkinson began

When was Fort Atkinson founded?

1846

The Fort Atkinson post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 435 in 18802020 census: 312180 years

Founding year: the first Fort Atkinson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fort Atkinson’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Fort Atkinson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1981. Watch Fort Atkinson change.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Fort Atkinson.Old housesHalf of Fort Atkinson’s homes were built before 1959.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fort Atkinson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Fort Atkinson on the map, 1906 to 1981

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

1906Decorah sheet · 1:125,000

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

Timeline

Fort Atkinson, 1846 to 1906

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

19th century
1846Post officeThe Fort Atkinson post office opens
1875Born hereJudson Dean Howard is born here
20th century
1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

The story

How Fort Atkinson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Atkinson.

Read it all →

Fort Atkinson was built to protect the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) during their removal from Wisconsin. The name honors Henry Atkinson, the commanding officer in charge of the effort. Construction began in May 1840 and was complete by the summer of 1842. The regular army turned the fort over to Iowa volunteers as the troops stationed there were needed for the Mexican–American War. After the Ho-Chunk were removed from Iowa the post was abandoned on February 14, 1849.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Fort Atkinson in 1877

Passages that mention Fort Atkinson, cut from the printed page as they were published.

**History of Winneshiek county with biographical sketches of its eminent men**1877 · page 74Read the page →
Read the text
The fort was built tor the protection of the Winnebago Indians from the hostile and predatory tribes surrounding them, as well as for the protection of the pioneer settlers. It was stone masonry work, situated on an eminence north of the present town of Fort Atkinson, and origin-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The Flowers were extraordinary characters, and played no little part in the history of Fort Atkinson. There were two brothers of them, and were classed with Charley Clark, Coleman and Tavernier, as "the Canadians." These Canadians came to the fort with the intention of making a living easily. They … — **History of Winneshiek county with biographical sketches of its eminent men**1877 · page 79Read the page →
Read the text
The Flowers were extraordinary characters, and played no little part in the history of Fort Atkinson. There were two brothers of them, and were classed with Charley Clark, Coleman and Tavernier, as "the Canadians." These Canadians came to the fort with the intention of making a living easily. They had somehow got the impression that Fort Atkinson was destined to be a great city, and thought it afforded a rich field in which to exercise their wit and shrewdness to benefit themselves. In language not to be misunderstood, they were sharpers.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Fort Atkinson, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2024Fort Atkinson, Iowa

2021Fort AtkinsonIowaPopPlot

2004IAMap-doton-FortAtkinson

Every building

Fort Atkinson, building by building, 1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Fort Atkinson fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 1

1915Sheet 1 of 1

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Fort Atkinson

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1998

Fort Atkinson Bridge

Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pinned Pratt Through Truss1

Fort Atkinson BridgePinned Pratt Through Truss

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Fort Atkinson, census by census

Between 261 and 480 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Fort Atkinson’s post office has been open since 1846.

Gone or out of use

Fort AtkinsonmilitaryLutheran Chapel of Saint James Germanchurch

1cemetery inside Fort Atkinson

Saint Peters

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Fort Atkinson’s history

What year was Fort Atkinson founded?

The Fort Atkinson post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fort Atkinson?

One place: the Fort Atkinson Bridge (listed 1998).

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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Fort Atkinson

Check your email