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History · La Pointe

La Pointe dates to 1693, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1900.

1693founded
6on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How La Pointe began

When was La Pointe founded?

1693

La Pointe dates its founding to 1693 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 292 in 19002020 census: 428333 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1843.The full story ↓

What stands out about La Pointe’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 La Pointe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.Older than the countryEstablished in 1693, 83 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Pointe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how La Pointe’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
People over time

La Pointe, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020497 in 1920Low: 130

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

La Pointe, 1693 to 1964

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1693
    FoundingLa Pointe is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1843Post officeThe La Pointe post office opens
  5. 1868BuiltBass Island Brownstone Company Quarry is built
  6. 1887Post officeThe La Pointe post office closes
  7. 1890Post officeThe La Pointe post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1913BuiltCoole Park Manor is built
  10. 1920BuiltHadland Fishing Camp is built
  11. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 497
  12. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How La Pointe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of La Pointe.

Read it all →

According to William Whipple Warren's History of the Ojibway People (18xx), Moningwunakuaning "is the spot on which the Ojibway tribe first grew, and like a tree it has spread its branches in every direction, in the bands that now [1885] occupy the vast extent of the Ojibway earth; and also that 'it is the root from which all the far scattered villages of the tribe have sprung.'"

La Pointe was originally the site of a fortified French trading post from 1693 to 1698 and from 1718 to 1759. The current city began to develop in the late 18th century as an American Fur Company outpost under the leadership of Michel Cadotte.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

La Pointe, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Wisconsins oldest home2010Wisconsins oldest homeWilderness park trail2010Wilderness park trailTown entry off of ferry2010Town entry off of ferryRocky shores2010Rocky shoresRocky shores - panoramio (3)2010Rocky shores - panoramio (3)Rocky shores - panoramio (1)2010Rocky shores - panoramio (1)Panoramic view of beach2010Panoramic view of beachLeaving Madeline Island2010Leaving Madeline IslandLagoon view2010Lagoon viewLapointegreenwood2006LapointegreenwoodWIMap-doton-La Pointe2004WIMap-doton-La Pointe
On the map

La Pointe on the map, 1964 to 1975

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

La Pointe on the 1964 USGS mapLa Pointe on the 1975 USGS map1964Bayfield 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 La Pointe.

On the National Register

6 listings protect 27 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
La Pointe Indian Cemetery
La Pointe Indian CemeteryHadland Fishing Camp, built 1920Bass Island Brownstone Company Quarry, built 1868Manitou CampCoole Park Manor, built 1913Rocky Island Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular2
Bungalow1
Utilitarian1
Balloon Frame Building1
La Pointe Indian CemeterySite
Hadland Fishing CampBuilt 1920
Bass Island Brownstone Company QuarryBuilt 1868
Manitou CampVernacular
Coole Park ManorVernacular · Built 1913
Rocky Island Historic DistrictUtilitarian

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

La Pointe had its own post office from 1843 to 1887.

La Pointe
1843–1887
La Pointe
1890–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MiddleportOld Fort
Gone or out of use
Bass Island Brownstone Company Quarrymine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside La Pointe
GreenwoodLa Pointe IndianSaint Joseph

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

Questions about La Pointe’s history

What year was La Pointe founded?

In 1693, according to Wikidata. La Pointe’s post office opened in 1843, and the census of 1900 counted 292 people here.

What is on the National Register in La Pointe?

6 listings: 3 buildings, 1 historic district, the Rocky Island Historic District, with 15 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 27 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, 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.