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.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,649 to 1,737 (+5%).
C+History
History · Eureka
18% of Eureka’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1955 on.
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Eureka’s history
How historic is Eureka?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Eureka’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eureka is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eureka’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±4.4) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
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 Eureka’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±4.4 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 Eureka’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Eureka’s collection
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.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Valley
Wolfcreek
Evergreen
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eureka CenterWolf Creek
Gone or out of use
Pleasant Hill ChurchchurchRock Creek ChurchchurchWoodrow Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eureka
EvergreenGranumMcAskillNew HomePleasant HillSaint John
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Eureka, 1874 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1874Post officeThe North Valley post office opens
- 1874Post officeThe Wolfcreek post office opens
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Evergreen post office opens
- 1904Post officeThe North Valley post office closes
- 1930Post officeThe Evergreen post office closes
- 1945Post officeThe Wolfcreek post office closes
- 1955
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Eureka on the map, 1955 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eureka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Milltown sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Eureka.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Eureka
Nobody well known was born in Eureka itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
H
Hugh P. BakerAmerican academic administrator · b. 1878R
Rodney Erickson17th President of Pennsylvania State University · b. 1946
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Eureka’s history
How does Eureka rank for history?
Eureka is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Eureka?
18% of Eureka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1992.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.