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B−History
History · Hales Corners

Hales Corners’ post office opened in 1854, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #189 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Hales Corners was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.

1854first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hales Corners began

When was Hales Corners founded?

1854

The Hales Corners post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 5,549 in 19602020 census: 7,720172 years

How historic is Hales Corners?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hales Corners post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hales Corners’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hales Corners is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #189 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hales Corners’ overall grade.
Founding era1854, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.5% of homes (±2.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 15 historic buildings, 19.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 48%

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 Hales Corners’ 19.5 sits above most of its state (82% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Hales Corners’ 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 Hales Corners are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Hales Corners change.Old housesHalf of Hales Corners’ homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hales Corners’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hales Corners’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
On the map

Hales Corners on the map, 1891 to 1994

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

Hales Corners on the 1891 USGS mapHales Corners on the 1901 USGS mapHales Corners on the 1959 USGS mapHales Corners on the 1971 USGS mapHales Corners on the 1994 USGS map1891Muskego 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 Hales Corners.

The story

How Hales Corners came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hales Corners.

Read it all →

The land in the area that would eventually encompass the Village was first claimed as French, then British, and eventually as the Northwest Territory of the United States in 1783. It was the land of the Potawatomi Indians until they were forced to move from their land in 1838. They were the dominant tribe in southeast Wisconsin with large villages. Like the Europeans that arrived later, they planted crops, but theirs were beans, squash, and corn. By engaging in the fur trade, the Potawatomi learned to speak French and English, and they eventually intermarried with the Europeans. During the 1830s and 1840s, more settlers arrived, starting with a number of New England families. Among them were three Hale families, whose lineage has been charted to England in the 1200s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hales Corners, 1854 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Hale's Corners post office opens
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1924BuiltW. Ben Hunt Cabin is built
  6. 1986Born hereZeke Dombrowski is born here
  7. 1990Born hereAlyson Dudek is born here
By decade

Hales Corners, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Beautiful nail and spa Hales Corner, WI2026Beautiful nail and spa Hales Corner, WIBeam Aethetics Hales Corner, WI2026Beam Aethetics Hales Corner, WIAmma's food Hales Corner, WI2026Amma's food Hales Corner, WIHales-corners-war-memorial2012Hales-corners-war-memorialPedestrian crossing2010Pedestrian crossingRaindrops2009RaindropsHales Corners, WI, USA2009Hales Corners, WI, USAHales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan12262009Hales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226Hales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (2)2009Hales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (…Hales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (1)2009Hales Corners, WI, USA - panoramio - NaturesFan1226 (…WIMap-doton-Hales Corners2004WIMap-doton-Hales Corners
On the National Register

2 listings protect 15 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
W. Ben Hunt Cabin
W. Ben Hunt Cabin, built 1924Root River Parkway
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Rustic2
W. Ben Hunt CabinRustic · Built 1924
All 2 listings
Root River ParkwayDistrict · listed 2013

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

People over time

Hales Corners, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001960198020002020Peak: 7,771

Between 5,549 and 7,771 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Hales Corners

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

See all →
A
Alyson DudekAmerican short track speed skater · b. 1990
Z
Zeke DombrowskiAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GreenfieldIts storyC+Greendale3 historic placesB−Franklin1 historic placeB−New Berlin4 historic placesB

Questions about Hales Corners’ history

What year was Hales Corners founded?

The Hales Corners post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hales Corners rank for history?

Hales Corners is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #189 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 Hales Corners?

Two places: the W. Ben Hunt Cabin (listed 2008) and the Root River Parkway (2013).

How old are the homes in Hales Corners?

8% of Hales Corners’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (11), 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) 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.