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History · Bancroft

Bancroft’s post office opened in 1876, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

1876first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bancroft began

When was Bancroft founded?

1876

The Bancroft post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 526150 years
Founding year: the first Bancroft post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Bancroft’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Bancroft.

Read it all →

Bancroft was named for Warren Gamaliel Bancroft, who served in the 42nd Wisconsin Regiment during the American Civil War and later served as pastor of the Oshkosh Methodist Church. Bancroft was the name sake of Warren Gamaliel Bancroft Winnipeg Harding, who is better known as Warren G. Harding—the 29th president of the United States. A post office in the community was opened on May 17, 1876.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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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Famous people

Famous people close to Bancroft

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

See all →
Peter WellerAmerican actor · b. 1947
Garrett Weber-GaleAmerican swimmer · b. 1985
Joe PavelskiAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1984
H
Henry Solomon WellcomeAnglo-American businessman · b. 1853
Suzy Favor HamiltonAmerican middle-distance runner, former escort … · b. 1968
K
Kathy KinneyAmerican actress · b. 1954
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pine GroveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlmondIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bancroft’s history

What year was Bancroft founded?

The Bancroft post office opened in 1876, 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 →
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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 Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.