Most of Jamestown was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.
The Jamestown post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Sinipee (1838), Fair Play (1841) and Louisburgh (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,181189 years
How historic is Jamestown?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jamestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Jamestown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jamestown is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jamestown’s overall grade.
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 Jamestown’s 5.1 sits above most of its state (66% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Jamestown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jamestown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
The Town of Jamestown is located in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,181 at the 2020 census. The census-designated places of Kieler and Sandy Hook and the unincorporated communities of Fair Play, Louisburg, and Rutledge are located within the town; The unincorporated community of Sinsinawa is located partially in the town. The ghost town of Sinnipee was located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,076 to 2,181 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Jamestown, 1881–1900
Passages that mention Jamestown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 584Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Jamestown was organized in 1849. It is Town 1, Range 2, and contains about thirty-two square miles in the south¬ western corner of the county. As the land is generally quite hilly, little of the town is first-class farming land ; consequently since agriculture has superseded mining as the leading industry of the county Jamestown and its included villages have declined. Its population was in 1850, 666; in 1855, 1,141; in 1860, 1,403; in 1865, 1,362; in 1870, 1,114; in 1875, 1,194; in 1880, 1,215; in 1885, 1,149; in 1890, 961 ; in 1895,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 583Read the page →
Read the text
quantities of mineral. They were called the Menomonee Diggings. An account of the yield of these mines will be found in Part III. In 1837 a post-office called Menomonee was established at the mines of that name. The name was afterward changed to Jamestown, after James Gilmore, the first postmaster. When the county was organized this part was made the precinct of Menomonee. In 1843 it was divided into Jamestown and Fairplay precincts (see map on page 135). In 1839 it had filling the humble office of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 822Read the page →
Read the text
Educational. — There spems to be some dispute as to when the first school was opened, some arguing that it was early in 1840, and others contending that this important event did not come to pass until some years later. All agree, however, that its location was on the White place west of Jamestown, where it was maintained until the convenience of patrons compelled its removal to a more central locality. Thereupon it was drawn over to South Jamestown and set up where it served its purposes until 1875. In that year a new schoolhouse was substituted and is still used.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Jamestown post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jamestown rank for history?
Jamestown is more historic than 65% 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 Jamestown?
8% of Jamestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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