Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Ithaca

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Ithaca

Ithaca’s post office opened in 1858, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ithaca began

When was Ithaca founded?

1858

The Ithaca post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Neptune (1855), Bear Valley (1858) and Keyesville (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 633168 years
Founding year: the first Ithaca post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ithaca’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ithaca, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ithaca are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Ithaca had its own post office from 1858 to 1908. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Neptune
1855–1922
Bear Valley
1858–1907
Ithaca
1858–1908
Keyesville
1873–1904
Aubrey
1899–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AubreyBear ValleyKeyesvilleNeptune
Gone or out of use
School Number 12schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5school
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ithaca
NeptuneSaint MarysWillow Valley

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

Help out

Start Ithaca’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ithaca’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

Ithaca, in brief

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

Ithaca is a town in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 633 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Aubrey, Bear Valley, Ithaca, Keyesville, and Neptune are located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 619 to 633 (+2%).

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

Timeline

Ithaca, 1855 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Neptune post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Bear Valley post office opens
  4. 1858Post officeThe Ithaca post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Post officeThe Bear Valley post office closes
  7. 1908Post officeThe Ithaca post office closes
  8. 1922Post officeThe Neptune post office closes
  9. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ithaca, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Wisconsin Dairy Farm - panoramio (5)2013Wisconsin Dairy Farm - panoramio (5)Willow Valley United Methodist2013Willow Valley United MethodistVillage Pump2013Village PumpIthaca High School2013Ithaca High SchoolIthaca Grain Elevator2013Ithaca Grain ElevatorIthaca Grade School2013Ithaca Grade SchoolFarm with Four Silos - panoramio (4)2013Farm with Four Silos - panoramio (4)Farm on Hwy 582013Farm on Hwy 58Farm near2013Farm nearFaber Acres2013Faber AcresDairy Farm in2013Dairy Farm inWIMap-doton-Ithaca2004WIMap-doton-Ithaca
On the map

Ithaca on the map, 1960 to 1983

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

Ithaca on the 1960 USGS mapIthaca on the 1983 USGS map1960Richland Center 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 Ithaca.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ithaca

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

See all →
Frank Lloyd WrightAmerican architect · b. 1867
Raymond Leo BurkeAmerican Catholic cardinal · b. 1948
Lynda BarryAmerican cartoonist · b. 1956
Vernon Wallace ThomsonAmerican politician · b. 1905
Otis B. ThayerActor, Director · b. 1862
Ryne DurenAmerican baseball player · b. 1929
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bear CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWillowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichlandIts storyCBuena VistaIts storyC+

Questions about Ithaca’s history

What year was Ithaca founded?

The Ithaca post office opened in 1858, 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 (12), 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.