Kaukauna dates to 1793, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #50 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
18 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kaukauna’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kaukauna is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #50 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kaukauna’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 Kaukauna’s 14.7 sits above most of its state (79% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1793.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Kaukauna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Kaukauna, building by building, 1885–1913
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.
Kaukauna is a Native American word and in various languages means "portage", "long portage", "place where pickerel are caught", and "place of pike". This area was traditionally home to the Ho-Chunk and Menominee peoples. The first Europeans in the area were the French. The first Catholic missionary in the area, Fr. Claude Allouez, commented on the "apple trees and vine stalks in abundance" that he found the people of Kaukauna cultivating. Kaukauna became an outpost of trade in Green Bay and saw much intermarriage between French and Menominee people, leading to a Métis culture which produced local leaders such as Augustin Grignon.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1793, according to Wikidata. Kaukauna’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 834 people here.
How does Kaukauna rank for history?
Kaukauna is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #50 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.
What is on the National Register in Kaukauna?
18 listings: 17 buildings, among them the Charles A. Grignon House (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Kaukauna Locks Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 26 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Kaukauna?
19% of Kaukauna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (18), 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.
