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History · Eaton

Eaton’s post office opened in 1856, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: User:Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Eaton began

When was Eaton founded?

1856

The Eaton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Niles (1856) and Steinthal (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 814170 years
Founding year: the first Eaton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Eaton’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 Eaton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Eaton, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eaton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eaton’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
Places that used to be

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

Eaton had its own post office from 1856 to 1902. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eaton
1856–1902
Niles
1856–1904
Steinthal
1875–1902
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Steinthal
Gone or out of use
Brocker PitmineCalumet SchoolschoolElder Grove SchoolschoolNiles Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eaton
EatonStreckertTyler

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

The story so far

Eaton, in brief

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

Eaton is a town in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 814 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Steinthal is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 833 to 814 (-2%).

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

Timeline

Eaton, 1856 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Eaton post office opens
  3. 1856Post officeThe Niles post office opens
  4. 1875Post officeThe Steinthal post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Eaton post office closes
  7. 1902Post officeThe Steinthal post office closes
  8. 1904Post officeThe Niles post office closes
  9. 1916Born hereVictor A. Miller is born here
  10. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Eaton, decade by decade

Today2 recent
EatonWisconsinTownHall2008EatonWisconsinTownHallWIMap-doton-Eaton c2004WIMap-doton-Eaton c
On the map

Eaton on the map, 1954 to 1992

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

Eaton on the 1954 USGS mapEaton on the 1974 USGS mapEaton on the 1992 USGS map1954Kiel 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 Eaton.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

St. Nazianz3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRocklandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSchleswigIts storyC+LibertyIts storyBCharlestownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Eaton’s history

What year was Eaton founded?

The Eaton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), 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.