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C−History
History · Arbor Vitae

Arbor Vitae’s post office opened in 1893

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #330 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Arbor Vitae was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1966 on.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Arbor Vitae began

When was Arbor Vitae founded?

1893

The Arbor Vitae post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,403133 years

How historic is Arbor Vitae?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Arbor Vitae post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Arbor Vitae’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arbor Vitae is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #330 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arbor Vitae’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.0% of homes (±4.2) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 9%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arbor Vitae’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

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

Start Arbor Vitae’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arbor Vitae’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
The story so far

Arbor Vitae, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Arbor Vitae yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Arbor Vitae is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,403 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Arbor Vitae is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,316 to 3,403 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Arbor Vitae, 1893 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Arbor Vitae post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1973Post officeThe Arbor Vitae post office closes
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Arbor Vitae on the map, 1966 to 1982

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

Arbor Vitae on the 1966 USGS mapArbor Vitae on the 1982 USGS map1966Minocqua 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 Arbor Vitae.

Famous people

Famous people close to Arbor Vitae

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

See all →
D
Dale WassermanAmerican playwright · b. 1914
J
Justin Orvel SchmidtAmerican entomologist · b. 1947
Craig LudwigAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1961
Rob NilssonAmerican film director · b. 1939
Gerald J. BoileauAmerican politician · b. 1900
K
Karen BurtonAmerican swimmer · b. 1962
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Arbor Vitae had its own post office from 1893 to 1973.

Arbor Vitae
1893–1973
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Faulkner SchoolschoolHall SchoolschoolTrapp Brothers Pitmine

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lac du Flambeau1 historic placeC+WoodruffIts storyC−Boulder JunctionIts storyC−St. Germain1 historic placeC−

Questions about Arbor Vitae’s history

What year was Arbor Vitae founded?

The Arbor Vitae post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Arbor Vitae rank for history?

Arbor Vitae is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #330 of 362 in Wisconsin. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Arbor Vitae?

5% of Arbor Vitae’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1984.

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).

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.