Founding year: the first Lake Nebagamon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lake Nebagamon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Nebagamon is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Nebagamon’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 Lake Nebagamon’s 10.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 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 Lake Nebagamon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nebagamon is derived from the Indigenous Chippewa language and the phrase "Nee-bay-go-moh-win", translated as "place to hunt deer by fire on the water." However, the journals and maps of French explorer Joseph Nicollet suggest that this could be a mistake in translation. It is chronicled on Wednesday, August 9, 1837, by Nicollet, that Nibegomowin Creek (Now Nebagamon Creek, sharing its name with the lake) was, at the time, referred to as Sleeping Bear River. Nibegomowin more closely translates to night-time game waiting and could be a place where games, such as bears, are rested or tracked at night. Sleeping Bear River (Nebagamon Creek) can be seen on Nicollet’s 1843 map, Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Nebagamon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Lake Nebagamon sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Nebagamon.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Lake Nebagamon
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Lake Nebagamon post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lake Nebagamon rank for history?
Lake Nebagamon is more historic than 34% 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 Lake Nebagamon?
One place: the Lake Nebagamon Auditorium (listed 1981).
How old are the homes in Lake Nebagamon?
10% of Lake Nebagamon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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