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History · Eureka

Eureka’s post office opened in 1850, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

1850first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Eureka began

When was Eureka founded?

1850

The Eureka post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 247176 years
Founding year: the first Eureka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Eureka’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 Eureka are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eureka’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 so far

Eureka, in brief

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

Eureka is a town in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,737 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Eureka Center is located in the town. The town in the setting for the 1957 film All Mine to Give was the Eureka in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, not this one in Polk County.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 220 to 247 (+12%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Eureka

Nobody well known was born in Eureka itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Carrie Chapman CattAmerican social reformer, suffragist · b. 1859
Lewis HineAmerican sociologist and photographer · b. 1874
Tyrese HaliburtonAmerican basketball player · b. 2000
HornswoggleAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1986
Elda Emma AndersonAmerican physicist · b. 1899
Harry Gordon SelfridgeAmerican born English businessman · b. 1858

Questions about Eureka’s history

What year was Eureka founded?

The Eureka post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 →