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A−History
History · Delafield

Delafield dates to 1837, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #104 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Delafield was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1837founded
6on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Delafield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Delafield began

When was Delafield founded?

1837

Delafield dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 183 in 18802020 census: 7,185189 years

How historic is Delafield?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1843.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Delafield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delafield is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #104 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Delafield’s overall grade.
Founding era1837, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19407.4% of homes (±2.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register6 listings, 22 historic buildings, 30.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 71%

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 Delafield’s 30.5 sits above most of its state (85% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1837.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Delafield’s past

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

On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Delafield change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Delafield.
★ What stands out · On the map

Delafield on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Delafield on the 1892 USGS mapDelafield on the 1909 USGS mapDelafield on the 1959 USGS mapDelafield on the 1971 USGS map1892Oconomowoc 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 Delafield.

On the National Register

6 listings protect 22 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Hawks Inn
Hawks InnSt. John Chrysostom Church, built 1851St. John's Military Academy, built 1884Delafield Fish Hatchery, built 1907Bishopstead, built 1842Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, built 1862
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Gothic Revival2
Neo-English Gothic1
Georgian1
Federal1
Hawks InnGreek Revival
St. John Chrysostom ChurchGothic Revival · Built 1851
St. John's Military AcademyNeo-English Gothic · Built 1884
Delafield Fish HatcheryBuilt 1907
BishopsteadGeorgian · Built 1842
All 6 listings
Chapel of St. Mary the VirginBuilding · listed 1972

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Timeline

Delafield, 1837 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingDelafield is established
  3. 1841Born hereAlonzo Cushing is born here
  4. 1842BuiltBishopstead is built
  5. 1842Born hereWilliam B. Cushing is born here
  6. 1843Post officeThe Delafield post office opens
  7. 1851BuiltSt. John Chrysostom Church is built
  8. 1863Post officeThe Nashotah Mission post office opens
  9. 1881Post officeThe Nashotah Mission post office closes
  10. 1884BuiltSt. John's Military Academy is built
  11. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1907BuiltDelafield Fish Hatchery is built
  14. 1933In the archiveSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street
  15. 1989Born hereJared Hassin is born here
  16. 1992Born hereAlex Rigsby is born here
The story

How Delafield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delafield.

Read it all →

Delafield was established in 1837, named after Dr. Charles Delafield of Milwaukee. It was the hometown of the Cushing brothers, who served the Union cause during the American Civil War—Alonzo (killed during Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg), William (led the raid on CSS Albemarle), and Howard (an Indian fighter killed fighting the Apache in Arizona after the war). Cushing Memorial Park is named after them and is home to a war memorial in their honor, and Cushing Elementary is specifically named after Alonzo Cushing. Since 1927, a culinary event known as the "Coon Feed" has taken place in Delafield.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Delafield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
St. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street1933St. John Chrysostom Church, Church StreetSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street1933St. John Chrysostom Church, Church StreetSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street1933St. John Chrysostom Church, Church StreetSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street1933St. John Chrysostom Church, Church StreetSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street1933St. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street
1940s–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
Today4 recent
Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (3)2009Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (3)Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (2)2009Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (2)Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (1)2009Delafield, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (1)Bluegrass Music Jam Delafield Fish Hatchery Wisconsin February 20092009Bluegrass Music Jam Delafield Fish Hatchery Wisconsin…
Every building

Delafield, building by building, 1918

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Delafield fire insurance map, 1918, sheet 11918Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

St. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street
Retake this viewSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Delafield, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020207,185

Grew from 183 people in 1880 to 7,185 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Delafield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Alex RigsbyWomen's ice hockey player · b. 1992
Alonzo CushingUnion Army soldier · b. 1841
William B. CushingUnited States Navy officer · b. 1842
Jared HassinAmerican football player · b. 1989
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Delafield’s post office has been open since 1843. Another post office, Nashotah Mission, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Delafield
1843–today
Nashotah Mission
1863–1881
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Bark River SchoolschoolDelafield Fish Hatcherylocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Delafield
Nashotah House EpiscopalianSaint John Chrysostom Episcopalian

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

Help out

Finish Delafield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSt. John Chrysostom Church, Church Stre…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

NashotahIts storyCSummit3 historic placesA−Hartland14 historic placesB+MertonIts storyC+Okauchee Lake1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOconomowoc2 historic placesA−ChenequaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOconomowoc LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Delafield’s history

What year was Delafield founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Delafield’s post office opened in 1843, and the census of 1880 counted 183 people here.

How does Delafield rank for history?

Delafield is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #104 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.

What is on the National Register in Delafield?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Hawks Inn (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the St. John's Military Academy, with 17 contributing buildings. 22 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Delafield?

7% of Delafield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.