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History · Wingo

Wingo dates to 1854

Most of Wingo was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1880.

1854founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Wingo began

When was Wingo founded?

1854

Wingo dates its founding to 1854 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 212 in 18802020 census: 573172 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wingo’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 Wingo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wingo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Wingo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wingo.

Read it all →

Wingo was established in 1854 as a stop along the New Orleans and Ohio Railroad, a predecessor line of the Illinois Central. The city was originally named "Wingo's Station" for local landowner Jerman J. Wingo, who provided the land for the depot. A post office was moved to the station from nearby Point Curve in 1862, and the city incorporated in 1872. The "Station" was dropped from the name in 1882. In 2021, Wingo-born Clayton Ray Mullins was arrested and charged in the assault of Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer "A.W." amidst that year's United States Capitol Attack, which was the focus of a subsequent long-form story in the New York Times.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wingo, 1854 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingWingo is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Wingo post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wingo, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Wingo-water-tower-ky2018Wingo-water-tower-kyWingo-caboose-north-ky2018Wingo-caboose-north-kyWingo-caboose-close-ky2018Wingo-caboose-close-kyWingo-Rail-Trail-ky2018Wingo-Rail-Trail-kyWingo-Lions-Club-ky2018Wingo-Lions-Club-kyWingo-339-ky2018Wingo-339-kyKYMap-doton-Wingo2004KYMap-doton-Wingo
On the map

Wingo on the map, 1952 to 1994

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

Wingo on the 1952 USGS mapWingo on the 1969 USGS mapWingo on the 1983 USGS mapWingo on the 1994 USGS map1952Mayfield 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 Wingo.

People over time

Wingo, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 632

Between 212 and 632 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wingo

Nobody well known was born in Wingo itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hayden WhiteAmerican historian · b. 1928
Leigh-Allyn BakerAmerican actress · b. 1972
M
Molly SimsAmerican actress · b. 1973
Jackie DeShannonAmerican singer-songwriter (b. 1941) · b. 1941
Adrian SmithAmerican basketball player · b. 1936
C
Cleanth BrooksAmerican literary critic and academic · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Wingo’s post office has been open since 1882.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wingo
Fellowship BaptistSaint PaulWingo

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

Questions about Wingo’s history

What year was Wingo founded?

In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wingo’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1880 counted 212 people here.

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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.