History · Darien

Darien’s post office opened in 1840, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.

1840first post office

0on the National Register

16%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Photo: Praiawart · CC BY 4.0

Quick answers

How Darien began

When was Darien founded?

1840

The Darien post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 427 in 18802020 census: 1,573186 years

How historic is Darien?

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Darien post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Darien’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Darien is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Darien’s overall grade.

Founding era1840, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194016.2% of homes (±5.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%

NewerOlder

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 Darien’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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 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 Darien’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 Darien are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1971. Watch Darien change.Deep rootsA post office since 1840: 186 years of Darien.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Darien’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Darien’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

On the map

Darien on the map, 1893 to 1971

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

1893Delavan 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 Darien.

Timeline

Darien, 1840 to 1995

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

19th century
1840Post officeThe Darien post office opens
1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1995Born hereEllen Schutt is born here

The story so far

Darien, in brief

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

Darien ( or ) is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Darien.

Its first post office opened in 1840. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,580 in 2010, 1,573 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Darien, 1882–1912

Passages that mention Darien, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The town of Walworth (with Sharon) was set off in 1839, and the town of Darien early in the next year, leaving the name Delavan to town 2 north, range 16 east. One more dismemberment, February 2, 1846, gave section 1 to the new town of Elkhorn. Of seven measurements recorded by the state topographe… — **History of Walworth county, Wisconsin ..**1912 · page 248Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Walworth (with Sharon) was set off in 1839, and the town of Darien early in the next year, leaving the name Delavan to town 2 north, range 16 east. One more dismemberment, February 2, 1846, gave section 1 to the new town of Elkhorn. Of seven measurements recorded by the state topographers the highest and lowest points were respectively nine hundred and sixty-eight ami nine hundred and five feet above sea-level.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The first town meeting and election of officers, according to the provisions of the act setting oft" and organizing the town of Darien, was held at the house of John Bruce, in the present village of Darien, on Ti^esday, the 5th day of April, 1842. Salmon Thomas was chosen Chairman of this meeting, … — **History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources...its war record, biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers**1882 · page 729Read the page →
Read the text
The first town meeting and election of officers, according to the provisions of the act setting oft" and organizing the town of Darien, was held at the house of John Bruce, in the present village of Darien, on Ti^esday, the 5th day of April, 1842. Salmon Thomas was chosen Chairman of this meeting, and J. W. Seaver, Clerk. Among other resolutions passed were the following: " That the town elect three Assessors ; that the town elect two Constables ; that a sum of money be raised equal to one-foiu-th of 1 per cent, for the support of the common schools; that the officers of the town be allowed at the rate oi $1 per day for their services; that the town raise a sum of money equal to one-half of 1 mill on a dollar on the valuation of the taxable projierty,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

tion in the common schools of his home community. He has devoted his lite principally to agricultural pursuits, and is now the owner of a choice farm of one hundred and seventeen acres in Darien township, two and one-half miles west of the town of Darien. lie engaged in farming there about six year… — **History of Walworth county, Wisconsin ..**1912 · page 639Read the page →
Read the text
tion in the common schools of his home community. He has devoted his lite principally to agricultural pursuits, and is now the owner of a choice farm of one hundred and seventeen acres in Darien township, two and one-half miles west of the town of Darien. lie engaged in farming there about six years, finally selling out and buying a home in Delavan at No. 114 North Seventh street. He now lives in Janesville, Wisconsin, lie has a pleasant home and has laid by a competency tor his old age through his early industry and good management.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Darien, decade by decade

Today6 recent

2012Corner's Inn

Wisconsin’s First School for the Deaf Historical Marker

2009Wisconsin’s First School for the Deaf Historical Mark…

2008Darien Tower 2

2008Darien Tower 1

2008Darien Birds Eye® Foods Tower

2005WIMap-doton-Darien

People over time

Darien, census by census

Between 354 and 1,580 people in every census since 1880.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Darien’s history

What year was Darien founded?

The Darien post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Darien rank for history?

Darien is more historic than 58% 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 Darien?

16% of Darien’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1976.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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