The Johnson Creek post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Johnson's Creek (1848), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 208 in 18802020 census: 3,318133 years
How historic is Johnson Creek?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Johnson Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Johnson Creek’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnson Creek is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #267 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnson Creek’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 Johnson Creek’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 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 Johnson Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnson Creek. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Waterloo 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 Johnson Creek.
The first two settlers were Charles Goodhue and Timothy Johnson, the latter of whom also founded nearby Watertown. The creek was named for Timothy Johnson, the first settler on the creek. The station was first called Belleville up until 1872, this caused it to be confused with another Belleville, Wisconsin. The post office has always been named Johnson Creek and in 1872 it was found that priority of settlement should be given to Mr. Johnson, and hence the name was changed to honor him. Johnson Creek.
The Johnson Creek post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Johnson Creek rank for history?
Johnson Creek is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #267 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.
How old are the homes in Johnson Creek?
14% of Johnson Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (6), 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.
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