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History · Wellington

Wellington dates to 1837, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

1837founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Grey Wanderer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Wellington began

When was Wellington founded?

1837

Wellington dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1840.

2020 census: 738189 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wellington’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 Wellington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Wellington.Old housesHalf of Wellington’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wellington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wellington’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
Timeline

Wellington, 1837 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingWellington is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Wellington post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1995Born hereZach Garrett is born here
The story

How Wellington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wellington.

Read it all →

Wellington was laid out in 1837, and named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British commander at the Battle of Waterloo. A post office called Wellington has been in operation since 1840.

In November 2013, Leland Ray Kolkmeyer pled guilty, in federal court, of a fraud scheme in which he embezzled more than $1.5 million from Wellington-Napoleon Fire Protection District and Special Road District while being their former treasurer.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wellington, decade by decade

Today6 recent
ToD Wellington P53002882012ToD Wellington P5300288ToD Wellington P5300288 (cropped)2012ToD Wellington P5300288 (cropped)Santa Fe Trl Mon P53002872012Santa Fe Trl Mon P5300287Santa Fe Trl Mon P53002862012Santa Fe Trl Mon P5300286SFT & ToD Wellington west P53002902012SFT & ToD Wellington west P5300290SFT & ToD Lexington west P53002832012SFT & ToD Lexington west P5300283

Questions about Wellington’s history

What year was Wellington founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata. Wellington’s post office opened in 1840.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.