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History · Bear Creek

Bear Creek’s post office opened in 1851, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and old-book passages.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bear Creek began

When was Bear Creek founded?

1851

The Bear Creek post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lauretta (1850) and Loreto (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 641175 years
Founding year: the first Bear Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bear Creek’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 Bear Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bear Creek, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear Creek’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Bear Creek had its own post office from 1851 to 1852. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lauretta
1850–1851
Bear Creek
1851–1852
Loreto
1900–1907
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Loreta
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bear Creek
Big HollowWard

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

The story so far

Bear Creek, in brief

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

Bear Creek is a town in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. In September 1858, the town of Bear Creek was created out of the town of Franklin. The town consists of 50 sections and is bounded on the north by the town of Washington, on the south by the town of Spring Green, on the east by the town of Franklin, and on the west by Richland County. The population was 641 at the 2020 census. The town took its name from Bear Creek. The unincorporated community of Loreto is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 595 to 641 (+8%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Bear Creek in 1880

Passages that mention Bear Creek, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In September, 1858, the town of Bear Creek was created out of the town of Franklin. In November, 1859, the towns of Marston and Washington were divided, by setting off from the former all that part lying south of the town line between Towns 12 and 13, and from the latter all that part lying north o…
The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..1880 · page 341Read the page →
Read the text

In September, 1858, the town of Bear Creek was created out of the town of Franklin. In November, 1859, the towns of Marston and Washington were divided, by setting off from the former all that part lying south of the town line between Towns 12 and 13, and from the latter all that part lying north of Towns 11 and 12. Out of the portions thus set off, the town of Ironton was created.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Bear Creek, with all of the southwest towns, was at first included with Honey Creek, where the first town meetings were held. This town was set off and the first town meeting held April 5, 1859, in the schoolhouse of District No. 6.
The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..1880 · page 672Read the page →
Read the text

Bear Creek, with all of the southwest towns, was at first included with Honey Creek, where the first town meetings were held. This town was set off and the first town meeting held April 5, 1859, in the schoolhouse of District No. 6.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Bear Creek, 1850 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Lauretta post office opens
  3. 1851Post officeThe Lauretta post office closes
  4. 1851Post officeThe Bear Creek post office opens
  5. 1852Post officeThe Bear Creek post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Loreto post office opens
  8. 1907Post officeThe Loreto post office closes
  9. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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

Bear Creek on the map, 1960 to 1983

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

Bear Creek on the 1960 USGS mapBear Creek on the 1983 USGS map1960Plain 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 Bear Creek.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bear Creek

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

See all →
Frank Lloyd WrightAmerican architect · b. 1867
Raymond Leo BurkeAmerican Catholic cardinal · b. 1948
Lynda BarryAmerican cartoonist · b. 1956
Vernon Wallace ThomsonAmerican politician · b. 1905
Otis B. ThayerActor, Director · b. 1862
Ryne DurenAmerican baseball player · b. 1929
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

FranklinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIthacaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashingtonIts storyBBuena VistaIts storyC+Spring Green1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bear Creek’s history

What year was Bear Creek founded?

The Bear Creek post office opened in 1851, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.