Most of Lake was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake’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’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lakes
1901–1910
Kaiser
1910–1939
Kennedy
1911–1938
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KaiserKennedy
Gone or out of use
Arnold SchoolschoolButternut SchoolschoolGreenfield SchoolschoolLakeside SchoolschoolPixley Dam SchoolschoolSweet Clover SchoolschoolWilson Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Lake, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lake is a town in Price County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,106 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Kennedy is located in the town. The ghost town of Kaiser was also located in the town.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,128 in 2010, 1,106 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lake in 1874
Passages that mention Lake, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text
The site of Madison is a i undulating isthmus between Lake Mendota (Fourth Lake) on the northwest, and Lake Monona (Third Lake) on the southeast. These lakes are 788 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and 210 feet above Lake Michigan.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 400Read the page →
Read the text
The Township of Dunn is situated in the southeast quarter of the county, and is township 6 north, range 10 east. Lake Waubesa, or Second Lake, covers portions of sections 4, 5, 8 and 9, on the northwest part; Lake Kegonsa, or First Lake, on the eastern side, also takes a portion of sections 13, 23, all of 24, 25 and 26 ; Hook Lake, in the southwest part, on sections 28, 29 and 32; Mud Lake on section 10.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lake, 1865 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Lake is more historic than 28% 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.
How old are the homes in Lake?
10% of Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
1898
2004
