Lost a third of its people between 1960 and 2010, then grew 5-fold.
8 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kekoskee’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Kekoskee, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kekoskee yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Kekoskee is a village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 896 at the 2020 census, a notable increase of 161 people at the 2010 census. This is because the village itself and the town of Williamstown both decided to consolidate within 2018, due to Williamstown struggling to seat a full village board, leaving only 163 acres left of the town.
Kekoskee was established in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 161 to 896 (+457%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Kekoskee in 1880
Passages that mention Kekoskee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 313Read the page →
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Kekoskee and May ville, in the town of Williamstown, and Theresa, in the town of Theresa, have their dams and water-wheels and mills and factories. Hustisford, however, may be considered the most favored point on Rock River within the limits of Dodge County at the present time. In the town of Rubicon, saw and gfist mills are supplied with power from the Rubicon River at several points, while Ashippun River, as it passes through the southeastern corner of the town of Ashippun, is utilized in the same manner. Rock River passes out of Dodge County in Section 36, town of Lebanon, but returns, as if loath to leave so beautiful a spot, and makes its force felt again (in the town of Emmet) before winding its weary way to the mother stream. Tlie
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The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc1880 · page 313Read the page →
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Kekoskee and May ville, in the town of Williamstown, and Theresa, in the town of Theresa,, have their dams and water-wheels and mills and factories. Hustisford, however, may be considered the most favored point on Rock River within the limits of Dodge County at the present time. In the town of Rubicon, saw and grist mills are supplied with power from the Rubicon River at several points, while Ashippun River, as it passes through the southeastern corner of the town of Ashippun, is utilized in the same manner. Rock River passes out of Dodge County in Section 36, town of Lebanon, but returns, as if loath to leave so beautiful a spot, and makes its force felt again (in the town of Emmet) before winding its weary way to the mother stream. The
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The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc1880 · page 332Read the page →
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and Herman Townships and commenced the erection of the iron furnace at Mayville. Nearly a whole year was consumed in building it. As soon as the furnace was well at work, a plank-road was projected and built from Mayville to Oconomowoc. The year previous to making the improvements just referred to, Samuel Jewett built a large sawmill in this township, at a place now called Kekoskee. The water-power at Kekoskee was first selected in the summer of 1845, by Stephen Walkley, who sold his claim to Jewett. Late in the fall of 1845, two men called at the house of the writer hereof and stated that they were looking for land. One of the men appeared to be an Englishman, stout built, and seemingly in possession of considerable money. His traveling companion had every appearance of a hard character. They remained a short time and then
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The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 357Read the page →
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The Horicon Gazette, whose editor witnessed the most interesting phases of the excitement, also published an article on the subject, as follows : " Last Monday was the most exciting day ever known to the inhabitants of Horicon. Early in the morning, a messenger from near Kekoskee came to the village, post haste, and reported that fourteen houses had been burned at Kekoskee by the Indians, and some of the inhabitants murdered. It was also reported that 800 Indians were on their way to Horicon for the purpose of burning and pillaging the town. The news spread like wildfire. Ladies packed their valuables, and some of the people came down town with their arms full of dresses and other choice
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Kekoskee, 1856 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 (3), 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 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.
2010
2010
2010
