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B+History
History · Kohler

Kohler’s post office opened in 1913, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the American Club, the Riverbend and the Kohler Company Factory Complex.

1913first post office
3on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kohler began

When was Kohler founded?

1913

The Kohler post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,195113 years

How historic is Kohler?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Kohler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kohler’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kohler is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kohler’s overall grade.
Founding era1913, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194036.8% of homes (±6.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 13 historic buildings, 59.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder

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 Kohler’s 59.8 sits above most of its state (90% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 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 Kohler’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 Kohler are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kohler’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kohler’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
The story

How Kohler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kohler.

Read it all →

Originally called Riverside within the rural Town of Sheboygan, the village was founded as a model company town in 1900 when the Kohler Company built a new plant at the location. The village was incorporated in 1912 as the Village of Kohler. Of the original homes, most built between 1917 and 1931, approximately 95% are owner occupied. The Kohler Company continues to retain final authority over the design of home and business additions, outbuildings and fences in the village to keep them within a certain aesthetic standard.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kohler, 1913 to 1988

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913Post officeThe Kohler post office opens
  3. 1921BuiltRiverbend is built
  4. 1964Born hereJoe Wolf is born here
  5. 1966Born hereDavid Kohler is born here
  6. 1975Born hereDavid Leitch is born here
  7. 1981Born hereLindee Brill is born here
  8. 1988Post officeThe Kohler post office closes
By decade

Kohler, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Kohler Village Hall2017Kohler Village HallKohler Company Foundry2016Kohler Company Foundry2015 Kohler Strike Day220152015 Kohler Strike Day2KohlerMemorialHighSchool2008KohlerMemorialHighSchoolKohlerWisconsinVillageHall2006KohlerWisconsinVillageHall
On the National Register

3 historic places in Kohler

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
American Club
American ClubRiverbend, built 1921Kohler Company Factory Complex
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Tudor1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
American ClubBuilding
RiverbendTudor · Built 1921
Kohler Company Factory ComplexLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Kohler

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

See all →
David LeitchAmerican actor and director · b. 1975
Joe WolfAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1964
Lindee Brill21st century American politician · b. 1981
D
David KohlerAmerican businessman · b. 1966
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Kohler had its own post office from 1913 to 1988.

Kohler
1913–1988
19101970today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kohler
KohlerSheboygan FallsSheboygan Hebrew

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sheboygan1 historic placeBWilsonIts storyC+Sheboygan Falls3 historic placesASheboygan23 historic placesA

Questions about Kohler’s history

What year was Kohler founded?

The Kohler post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Kohler rank for history?

Kohler is more historic than 70% 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.

What is on the National Register in Kohler?

Three places: the American Club (listed 1978), the Riverbend (1980) and the Kohler Company Factory Complex (2001).

How old are the homes in Kohler?

37% of Kohler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.