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History · Charlestown

Charlestown’s post office opened in 1849, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Charlestown began

When was Charlestown founded?

1849

The Charlestown post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hayton (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 774177 years
Founding year: the first Charlestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Charlestown’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 Charlestown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Charlestown.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Charlestown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Charlestown’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
Timeline

Charlestown, 1849 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Charlestown post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Charlestown post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Hayton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930Post officeThe Hayton post office closes
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Charlestown, in brief

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

Charlestown is a town in Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 774 at the 2020 census, a tiny decrease of 775 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Hayton is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 775 in 2010, 774 in 2020.

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

By decade

Charlestown, decade by decade

Today2 recent
St Martin Catholic Church Charlestown Wisconsin April 20132013St Martin Catholic Church Charlestown Wisconsin April…WIMap-doton-Charlestown2004WIMap-doton-Charlestown
On the map

Charlestown on the map, 1954 to 1992

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

Charlestown on the 1954 USGS mapCharlestown on the 1974 USGS mapCharlestown on the 1992 USGS map1954Chilton 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 Charlestown.

Famous people

Famous people close to Charlestown

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

See all →
Thorstein VeblenAmerican economist and sociologist · b. 1857
Bunny BeriganAmerican musician · b. 1908
E
Eda Nemoede CastertonAmerican artist · b. 1877
Francis E. McGovernAmerican politician · b. 1866
Thomas P. M. BarnettAmerican military geostrategist · b. 1962
Ada Celeste SweetAmerican social reformer, humanitarian, editor · b. 1853
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Charlestown had its own post office from 1849 to 1873. Another post office, Hayton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Charlestown
1849–1873
Hayton
1873–1930
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hayton
Gone or out of use
Hayton QuarrymineJefferson SchoolschoolLowell SchoolschoolSaint Martin SchoolschoolWagner Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Charlestown
CharlestownHayton HillsideSaint Martin Catholic

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chilton2 historic placesANew HolsteinIts storyB+RantoulIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChiltonIts storyB+BrothertownIts storyB−SchleswigIts storyC+EatonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Charlestown’s history

What year was Charlestown founded?

The Charlestown post office opened in 1849, 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 (2), 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.