The Cooperstown post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Rosecrans (1863) and Greenstreet (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,300178 years
How historic is Cooperstown?
A
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cooperstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cooperstown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cooperstown is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cooperstown’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 Cooperstown’s 8.6 sits above most of its state (73% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.3 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 Cooperstown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cooperstown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cooperstown is a town in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,300. As of a 2025 estimate, the town population was 1,296.
Its first post office opened in 1848. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,292 in 2010, 1,300 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Cooperstown post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cooperstown rank for history?
Cooperstown is more historic than 90% 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.
What is on the National Register in Cooperstown?
One place: the Rock Mill (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Cooperstown?
39% of Cooperstown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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