The Marinette post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887. Another post office, Menekaunee (1857), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,412 in 18802020 census: 11,119173 years
How historic is Marinette?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Marinette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marinette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marinette is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #91 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marinette’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 Marinette’s 9.0 sits above most of its state (75% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Marinette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 16,195 in 1900; 11,119 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marinette’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Marinette, building by building, 1884–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The site of Marinette was first settled by a small Algonquin band of Menominee people, referred to by the neighboring Ojibwe as "the wild rice people" for their staple crop. The band consisted of 40 to 80 men and their families. They lived at the mouth of the Menominee River in the 17th and 18th centuries, which, according to their creation story, was the tribe's place of origin.
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.
The Marinette post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Marinette rank for history?
Marinette is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #91 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Marinette?
7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the F.J. Lauerman House (listed 1979, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marinette?
34% of Marinette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1955.
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), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
