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History · Bear Creek

Bear Creek’s post office opened in 1858, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Bear Creek began

When was Bear Creek founded?

1858

The Bear Creek post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Nicholson (1880) and Canary (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 748168 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 2 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, places now gone and burying grounds

Bear Creek had its own post office from 1858 to 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bear Creek
1858–1886
Nicholson
1880–1902
Canary
1900–1902
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bear Creek CornersNicholson
Gone or out of use
Bell Corner SchoolschoolCanaryschoolElm Dale SchoolschoolFawn Creek SchoolschoolHillside SchoolschoolNicholson SchoolschoolSilver Creek SchoolschoolTrinity Lutheran Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bear Creek
Bear CreekTrinity Lutheran

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 Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 748 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Bear Creek Corners and Nicholson are located in the town. The village of Bear Creek is located immediately east of the town, across the county line in Outagamie County.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 823 to 748 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Bear Creek, 1858 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Bear Creek post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Nicholson post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Bear Creek post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Canary post office opens
  7. 1902Post officeThe Nicholson post office closes
  8. 1902Post officeThe Canary post office closes
  9. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bear Creek, decade by decade

Today1 recent
BearCreekWisconsinLookingWest2008BearCreekWisconsinLookingWest
On the map

Bear Creek on the map, 1970 to 1993

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 1970 USGS mapBear Creek on the 1984 USGS mapBear Creek on the 1993 USGS map1970Clintonville South 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 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 →
R
Robert F. MorneauCatholic bishop · b. 1938
Reid Fred MurrayAmerican politician · b. 1887
C
Chester L. KrauseAmerican numismatist and publisher · b. 1923
Clint KriewaldtAmerican football player · b. 1976
Daniel V. SpeckhardAmerican diplomat · b. 1959
B
Bert ThielMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1926
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Union1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLebanonIts storyC+Deer CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLarrabeeIts storyB

Questions about Bear Creek’s history

What year was Bear Creek founded?

The Bear Creek post office opened in 1858, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.