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B−History
History · Hilbert

Hilbert’s post office opened in 1873, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: The original uploader was Royalbroil at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Hilbert began

When was Hilbert founded?

1873

The Hilbert post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 497 in 19002020 census: 1,248153 years

How historic is Hilbert?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hilbert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hilbert’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hilbert is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hilbert’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.3% of homes (±5.0) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−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 46%
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 Hilbert’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). 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 Hilbert’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 Hilbert are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hilbert’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hilbert’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
The story so far

Hilbert, in brief

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

Hilbert is a village in Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,248 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,132 to 1,248 (+10%).

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

Timeline

Hilbert, 1873 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Hilbert post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Born hereBunny Berigan is born here
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1976Born hereDorothy McMahan is born here
By decade

Hilbert, decade by decade

Today5 recent
SargentoHilbertPlant2006SargentoHilbertPlantHilbertWiscosinWelcomeSign2006HilbertWiscosinWelcomeSignHilbertWisconsin2006HilbertWisconsinHilbertHighSchool2006HilbertHighSchoolHighway114WisconsinEastTerminus2006Highway114WisconsinEastTerminus
On the map

Hilbert on the map, 1954 to 1992

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

Hilbert on the 1954 USGS mapHilbert on the 1974 USGS mapHilbert on the 1992 USGS map1954Chilton 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 Hilbert.

People over time

Hilbert, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019001920194019601980200020201,248

Grew from 497 people in 1900 to 1,248 in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Hilbert

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

See all →
Bunny BeriganAmerican musician · b. 1908
D
Dorothy McMahanAmerican athlete · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Old corners

Hilbert’s post office has been open since 1873.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hilbert Junction

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.

WoodvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRantoulIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hilbert’s history

What year was Hilbert founded?

The Hilbert post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hilbert rank for history?

Hilbert is more historic than 46% 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 Hilbert?

25% of Hilbert’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (5), 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.