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B+History
History · Eagle

13% of Eagle’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #140 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Ward District No. 3 Schoolhouse and the Ahira R. Hinkley House. Its Register listings are the Ward District No. 3 Schoolhouse and the Ahira R. Hinkley House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eagle’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Eagle’s history

How historic is Eagle?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eagle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #140 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle’s overall grade.
Founding eraAge sits out for Eagle: no founding date holds up well enough to grade on–Homes built before 194013.2% of homes (±7.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 5.7 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 61%

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 Eagle’s 5.7 sits above most of its state (67% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Eagle’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Eagle change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eagle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eagle’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 viewFMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-m…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Eagle on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Eagle on the 1892 USGS mapEagle on the 1906 USGS mapEagle on the 1960 USGS mapEagle on the 1971 USGS map1892Eagle 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 Eagle.

The story

How Eagle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle.

Read it all →

The town's name comes from an 1836 incident when pioneer Thomas Sugden and two companions, exploring the area, spotted what was described as "a monster bald-headed eagle... hovering and curving over a large mound" in the midst of the prairie. Eagle was the site where the Eagle Diamond was found in 1876.

The village was struck by an EF2 tornado on the night of June 21, 2010. Tornado alert sirens in the area failed to sound prior to the strike. There were no fatalities, but there were several minor injuries. At least 2 homes were leveled to the ground by the tornado and several other homes had major damage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eagle, 1845 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845Post officeThe Eagleville post office opens
  3. 1849BuiltWard District No. 3 Schoolhouse is built
  4. 1854Post officeThe Eagleville post office closes
  5. 1880Born hereArthur Cory is born here
  6. 1892In the archiveFMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-moraine, near
  7. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Born hereJohn Charles Brophy is born here
  10. 1936Born hereRaymond L. Erikson is born here
  11. 1980In the archiveHistoric interpreter harvesting radishes at Old World Wisconsin, the state historical soc…
By decade

Eagle, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
FMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-moraine, near1892FMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-moraine, near
1900s–1970snothing 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
1980s2 items
Historic interpreter harvesting radishes at Old World Wisconsin, the state historical society's outdoor museum1980Historic interpreter harvesting radishes at Old World…Historic interpretor harvesting radishes at Old World Wisconsin, The State Historical Society's outdoor museum1980Historic interpretor harvesting radishes at Old World…
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
Today14 recent
Eagle Town Park2026Eagle Town ParkEagle Spring Lake2026Eagle Spring LakeEagle Historical Society2026Eagle Historical SocietyAlice Baker Memorial Public Library2026Alice Baker Memorial Public LibraryBrady's Rocks2025Brady's RocksEagle Village Park2024Eagle Village ParkSt Theresa Catholic Church2013St Theresa Catholic ChurchEagle Wisconsin Water Tower2013Eagle Wisconsin Water TowerEagle Wisconsin Sign Looking South WIS672013Eagle Wisconsin Sign Looking South WIS67Eagle Wisconsin Police Department2013Eagle Wisconsin Police DepartmentEagle Wisconsin Fire and EMS2013Eagle Wisconsin Fire and EMSEagle Wisconsin Downtown WIS67 Looking South2013Eagle Wisconsin Downtown WIS67 Looking SouthEagle Wisconsin Downtown Looking East County NN2013Eagle Wisconsin Downtown Looking East County NNEagle Wisconsin Downtown Center WIS59 WIS672013Eagle Wisconsin Downtown Center WIS59 WIS67
Every building

Eagle, building by building, 1894–1900

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 year, then a sheet.

Eagle fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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.

FMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-moraine, near
Retake this viewFMIB 39533 Western face of the kettle-moraine, near, 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Eagle

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Ahira R. Hinkley House
Ward District No. 3 Schoolhouse, built 1849Ahira R. Hinkley House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Ward District No. 3 SchoolhouseGreek Revival · Built 1849
All 2 listings
Ahira R. Hinkley HouseBuilding · listed 1974

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

People over time

Eagle, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020202,071

Grew from 292 people in 1880 to 2,071 in 2020, 7 times over.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Eagle

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

See all →
John Charles BrophyAmerican politician · b. 1901
R
Raymond L. EriksonAmerican virologist, biologist and molecular bi… · b. 1936
Arthur CoryAmerican politician · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Eagleville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Eagleville
Gone or out of use
Eagleville Millsbuilding
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eagle
JerichoMelendys PrairieOak GroveSaint Theresa

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.

Palmyra1 historic placeA−MukwonagoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroyIts storyBOttawaIts storyBEast Troy1 historic placeA−

Questions about Eagle’s history

How does Eagle rank for history?

Eagle is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #140 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 Eagle?

Two places: the Ward District No. 3 Schoolhouse (listed 1981) and the Ahira R. Hinkley House (1974).

How old are the homes in Eagle?

13% of Eagle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1990.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.