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History · Dunbar

Dunbar dates to 1888

Most of Dunbar was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1972 on.

1888founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Dunbar began

When was Dunbar founded?

1888

Dunbar dates its founding to 1888 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1889.

2020 census: 605138 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dunbar’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 Dunbar are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dunbar’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Dunbar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dunbar.

Read it all →

The town was founded in 1888 during a period of thriving logging industry in the Wisconsin northern woods. At that time the railroad was the main means of transporting logs from Dunbar to the southern part of the state and Illinois. Dunbar was probably named after Warren Dunbar (1840–1918), who was an engineer for the railroad.

A story says that before the town was officially founded there was a restaurant where a cook with the surname Dunbar worked. Whenever the railroad stopped at that part of the area they brought food and supplies for the restaurant. The railroad workers said they were bringing things "to Dunbar" the cook. Eventually when the town was founded it was after the cook's surname.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dunbar, 1888 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingDunbar is established
  3. 1889Post officeThe Dunbar post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919Born hereJohn A. Gronouski is born here
  6. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1973Post officeThe Dunbar post office closes
By decade

Dunbar, decade by decade

Today1 recent
WIMap-doton-Dunbar2004WIMap-doton-Dunbar
On the map

Dunbar on the map, 1972 to 1991

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

Dunbar on the 1972 USGS mapDunbar on the 1991 USGS map1972Dunbar 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 Dunbar.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Dunbar had its own post office from 1889 to 1973.

Dunbar
1889–1973
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Dunbar AirportairportMerriman SchoolschoolPike Ridge Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GoodmanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPembineIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAthelstaneIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAuroraIts storyB−BeecherIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHomesteadIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNiagaraIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dunbar’s history

What year was Dunbar founded?

In 1888, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dunbar’s post office opened in 1889.

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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.