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C−History
History · Bradley

Bradley’s post office opened in 1906

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Bradley was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bradley began

When was Bradley founded?

1906

The Bradley post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Baymill (1900) and Heafford Junction (1935), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,382120 years

How historic is Bradley?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Bradley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bradley is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bradley’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19408.6% of homes (±3.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 16%
NewerOlder

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 Bradley’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 range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 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 Bradley’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 Bradley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bradley, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bradley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bradley’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

Bradley had its own post office from 1906 to 1935. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Baymill
1900–1904
Bradley
1906–1935
Heafford Junction
1935–1984
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GilbertHeafford JunctionWest Kraft
Gone or out of use
Bay Mill SchoolschoolDotter Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Bradley
Greenwood

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

The story so far

Bradley, in brief

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

Bradley is a town in Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,382 at the 2020 census, down from 2,408 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Bradley, Gilbert, Heafford Junction, and West Kraft are located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1906. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,408 in 2010, 2,382 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Bradley, 1900 to 1984

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Baymill post office opens
  3. 1904Post officeThe Baymill post office closes
  4. 1906Post officeThe Bradley post office opens
  5. 1935Post officeThe Bradley post office closes
  6. 1935Post officeThe Heafford Junction post office opens
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1984Post officeThe Heafford Junction 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

Bradley on the map, 1954 to 1989

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

Bradley on the 1954 USGS mapBradley on the 1989 USGS map1954Iron Mountain sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bradley.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bradley

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

See all →
W
Wendy BoglioliAmerican swimmer · b. 1955
Jay LeggettAmerican actor, improvisational comedian, produ… · b. 1963
Mike WebsterAmerican football player · b. 1952
Carl R. EklundAmerican ornithologist · b. 1909
Donald Edgar TewesAmerican politician · b. 1916
Edward S. JordanAmerican automotive pioneer · b. 1881
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

SkanawanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNokomisIts storyC−Tomahawk1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock FallsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilsonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bradley’s history

What year was Bradley founded?

The Bradley post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bradley rank for history?

Bradley is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. 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 Bradley?

9% of Bradley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.

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).

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.