The Lind post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hatton (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,571176 years
How historic is Lind?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lind post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lind’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lind is more historic than 34% 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 Lind’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 Lind’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 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 Lind’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlements in the area were made in the spring of 1849, by Simon C. Dow and Colonel John W. Chandler. Dow's log house remained standing until at least 1890. The first school began education on June 5, 1851. The first permanent church (Methodist) was completed in 1865.
The Town of Lind was established on March 5, 1852, as one of the first towns in Waupaca County, along with Centerville (now Little Wolf), Dayton, Embarrass, Mukwa, Waupaca, and Weyauwega. The town was named for Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. The first town meeting was held at the house of Thomas Spencer, where the following set of first officers were elected.
Passages that mention Lind, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Waupaca county, Wisconsin1890 · page 201Read the page →
Read the text
Dow and Chandler had been in occupancy of this cabin about ten days, and were the first settlers of the Town of Lind. Here the party met W. B. Hibbard, who had come down from the "Vermonters' Camp" for some flour. Following Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Waupaca county, Wisconsin1890 · page 96Read the page →
Read the text
''At a meeting of the County Board held atMukwa, December 7, 1852, Township 21 north, of Range 11 east, was detached from the Town of Lind, and organized as a distinct town, to be called Dayton. It was the first single township in the County separately organized as a town.
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
Lind, 1850 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Lind post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lind rank for history?
Lind 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.
How old are the homes in Lind?
14% of Lind’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
