Plankinton sprang up with the arrival of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad to the area in 1880. The town was named for Milwaukee-based meatpacker and railroad official John Plankinton.
The voters approved the incorporation of Plankinton as a village in an election on September 7, 1882. The first officials were elected on September 22, 1882. The first village trustees were C. Thompson, C.C. Irons, T.C. Granger, W.H. Ferguson.
On 7 October 1897, the girls' dormitory at the State Industrial School in town burned, killing seven people.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plankinton Township.
1980Plankinton 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 Plankinton Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Plankinton Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
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 (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
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