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History · Interlaken

Interlaken’s post office opened in 1904, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.

1904first post office
1on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Interlaken began

When was Interlaken founded?

1904

The Interlaken post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 693 in 19102020 census: 595122 years
Founding year: the first Interlaken post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Interlaken’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 Interlaken are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Interlaken’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1970. Watch Interlaken change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Interlaken’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Interlaken’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 Interlaken came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Interlaken.

Read it all →

The first European or White settlers settled the area in the late 1790s and early 1800s. The Village of Interlaken was home to many families from the New England and New Jersey areas. Early businesses included hotels, blacksmiths, post office, bank, and in time the railroad station. All designed to support the local families and the farmers from the surrounding area.

Four churches were established to serve the community, Union Baptist in 1819, Reformed Church of Farmerville in 1830, a Universalist church in 1850 and St. Francis Solanus Catholic Church in 1874. The First Baptist Church of Interlaken was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Interlaken on the map, 1902 to 1970

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

Interlaken on the 1902 USGS mapInterlaken on the 1942 USGS mapInterlaken on the 1970 USGS map1902Genoa sheet · 1:62,500

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Every building

Interlaken, building by building, 1904–1910

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 year, then a sheet.

Interlaken fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
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 Interlaken

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Interlaken, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 780

Between 595 and 780 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Interlaken’s history

What year was Interlaken founded?

The Interlaken post office opened in 1904, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.