On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laketown is more historic than 40% 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 Laketown’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 Laketown’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 (±5.9 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 Laketown’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 burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Alabama
1870–1903
Cushing
1870–today
Atlas
1895–1906
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Atlas
1cemetery inside Laketown
Haustrup
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Laketown, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Laketown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Laketown is a town in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,024 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Atlas is in the town. The unincorporated communities of Cushing and Pole Cat Crossing are also partially in the town.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 961 to 1,024 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Laketown, 1870 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Laketown is more historic than 40% 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 Laketown?
16% of Laketown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
