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B+History
History · Juneau

Juneau dates to 1845, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #109 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1870.

1845founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Juneau began

When was Juneau founded?

1845

Juneau dates its founding to 1845 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 300 in 18702020 census: 2,658181 years

How historic is Juneau?

B+

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Juneau’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Juneau is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #109 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Juneau’s overall grade.
Founding era1845, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194033.9% of homes (±7.2) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 73%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 70%

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 Juneau’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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1845.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Juneau’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 Juneau are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1914, drew every building in Juneau.Deep rootsEstablished in 1845: 181 years of Juneau.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Juneau’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Juneau’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
Every building

Juneau, building by building, 1884–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Juneau fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Juneau, 1845 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845
    FoundingJuneau is established
  3. 1849Post officeThe Dodge Center post office opens
  4. 1850Post officeThe Juneau post office opens
  5. 1852Born hereByron Buffington is born here
  6. 1856Post officeThe Dodge Center post office closes
  7. 1872Born hereMartin L. Lueck is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Born hereJesse A. Canniff is born here
  10. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1969Born hereJeffrey Wood is born here
The story

How Juneau came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Juneau.

Read it all →

Juneau was founded in 1845 by settlers Martin Rich and William Dennis. It became the county seat of Dodge County in 1846. The founders originally named the settlement "Victory" and then "Dodge Center", from the German "Deutsch Center", but finding these names in conflict with other places, the town changed its name to Juneau in 1852. Most sources say that Juneau was named after French-Canadian trader Solomon Juneau, the founder of Milwaukee and of Theresa, Wisconsin. The city itself claims to be named for Paul Juneau, Solomon Juneau's part-Menominee son, a businessman and state legislator who made his home in the city and served as county register of deeds until his accidental shooting death outside the courthouse in Juneau in 1858. Juneau was incorporated as a village in 1865 and a city in 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Juneau, decade by decade

Today6 recent
JuneauWisconsinDowntownWIS262010JuneauWisconsinDowntownWIS26DodgelandHighSchoolWisconsinWIS262010DodgelandHighSchoolWisconsinWIS26JuneauWisconsinDOTSign2008JuneauWisconsinDOTSignJuneau tower2008Juneau towerDodgeCountyWisconsinAdministrationBuilding2008DodgeCountyWisconsinAdministrationBuildingWIMap-doton-Juneau2004WIMap-doton-Juneau
On the map

Juneau on the map, 1955 to 1980

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

Juneau on the 1955 USGS mapJuneau on the 1975 USGS mapJuneau on the 1980 USGS map1955Horicon 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 Juneau.

People over time

Juneau, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,814

Between 300 and 2,814 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Juneau

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

See all →
J
Jeffrey WoodAmerican politician, Wisconsin State Assembly m… · b. 1969
Martin L. LueckAmerican politician and judge · b. 1872
B
Byron BuffingtonAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1852
J
Jesse A. CanniffAmerican farmer, businessman, and politician · b. 1900
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Juneau’s post office has been open since 1850. Another post office, Dodge Center, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dodge Center
1849–1856
Juneau
1850–today
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Dodge County Homelocale
1cemetery inside Juneau
Dodge County

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

Questions about Juneau’s history

What year was Juneau founded?

In 1845, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Juneau’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1870 counted 300 people here.

How does Juneau rank for history?

Juneau is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #109 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 Juneau?

34% of Juneau’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.