The Carlton post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Sandy Bay (1858), Sandy Bay (1873) and Norman (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,008163 years
How historic is Carlton?
B−
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Carlton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Carlton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carlton is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carlton’s overall grade.
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 Carlton’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 C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 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 Carlton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Carlton had its own post office from 1863 to 1903. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sandy Bay
1858–1863
Carlton
1863–1903
Sandy Bay
1873–1903
Norman
1874–1904
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Norman
Gone or out of use
Carlton SchoolschoolEast Twin River SchoolschoolRanch Side AirportairportWayside Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carlton
Forest HillNormanSaint Joseph CatholicSaint PetersSaint PetersSandy BayVolunteer
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Carlton, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Carlton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Carlton is a town in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,008 at the 2020 census. Carlton is probably named for James Carlton, an early settler in the area.
Its first post office opened in 1863. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,014 in 2010, 1,008 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Carlton, 1858 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Carlton post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Carlton rank for history?
Carlton is more historic than 51% 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 Carlton?
33% of Carlton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1973.
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.
