The Dale post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Medina (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,869150 years
How historic is Dale?
C+
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dale is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #245 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dale’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 Dale’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 (±6.8 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 Dale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land that now encompasses the town of Dale was originally part of the neighboring town of Hortonia. It was first separated from Hortonia and organized as the town of Medina on December 16, 1851, during a special night session of Hortonia's town board. Dissension arose over the proposed borders of the new town. Consequently, just over two months later, on February 23, 1852, the board unanimously repealed the action to create the Town of Medina, returning the land to Hortonia.
Nearly two years later, the town of Dale was established on November 18, 1853, again separating control from the town of Hortonia.
The Dale post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dale rank for history?
Dale is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #245 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Dale?
19% of Dale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (5), Wikipedia, 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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