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–Not graded
History · Couderay

Couderay’s post office opened in 1903, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1930.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Couderay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Couderay began

When was Couderay founded?

1903

The Couderay post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 171 in 19302020 census: 81123 years
Founding year: the first Couderay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Couderay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Couderay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Couderay’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLiving room at "the Hideout," the North…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Couderay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Couderay.

Read it all →

The name Couderay is a truncated name of French origin denoting the term "short ears" (courtes oreilles) in connection with those of the Ojibwa people. French explorers and French-Canadian trappers who roamed the northern part of French Louisiana and the Great Lakes at the time of New France created this name.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Couderay, 1903 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Couderay post office opens
  3. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980In the archiveLiving room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat of Chicago gangster Al Capone during…
By decade

Couderay, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
Living room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat of Chicago gangster Al Capone during Prohibition1980Living room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat …Living room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat of Chicago gangster Al Capone during Prohibition1980Living room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat …
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Couderay Wisconsin2026Couderay WisconsinWIMap-doton-Couderay2004WIMap-doton-CouderayWIMap-doton-Couderay-town2004WIMap-doton-Couderay-town
On the map

Couderay on the map, 1971 to 1980

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

Couderay on the 1971 USGS mapCouderay on the 1980 USGS map1971Couderay 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 Couderay.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Living room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat of Chicago gangster Al Capone during Prohibition
Retake this viewLiving room at "the Hideout," the Northwoods retreat of Chicago gangster Al Capone during Prohibition, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Couderay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Couderay, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 189

Between 81 and 189 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Couderay’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ReserveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Couderay’s history

What year was Couderay founded?

The Couderay post office opened in 1903, 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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.