Menomonie dates to 1788, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #70 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 33 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Menomonie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Menomonie is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #70 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Menomonie’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 Menomonie’s 23.0 sits above most of its state (84% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1788.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Menomonie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Menomonie’s post office has been open since 1888. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Menomonee
1854–1888
Menomonie
1888–today
North Menomonee
1888–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Huber Mobile Home ParkMenomonie JunctionNorth Menomonie
Gone or out of use
Centenary Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchCentral SchoolschoolDunn County AsylumhospitalDunn County Poor FarmlocaleIdeal SchoolschoolLone Pine Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Menomonie
EvergreenHalversonPotters FieldSaint Joseph's
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
5 listings protect 38 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The earliest known residents of the area were people from the Trempealeau Hopewell Culture of the Middle Woodland Period (100–400 CE). Evidence from their culture includes a mound from the Wakanda Mounds Group in Wakanda Park, along the western shore of Lake Menomin. Most of these mounds are thought to be from Effigy Mound cultures from this time period. Artifacts from the Late Woodland Period (400–1000 CE) have also been uncovered. It is theorized that agricultural villages supported the population during summer months, transitioning to hunting and gathering from fall through spring. The next known population group is the Santee Dakota in the 1600s and 1700s, who engaged in conflicts with the Ojibwe people, who migrated west as refugees. Armed with European weapons, the Ojibwe pushed westward, eventually winning at the Battle of Kathio in 1770. The two tribes continued their warfare, e…
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.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Menomonie.
Every building
Menomonie, building by building, 1885–1910
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.
In 1788, according to Wikidata. Menomonie’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1860 counted 970 people here.
How does Menomonie rank for history?
Menomonie is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #70 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 Menomonie?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Louis Smith Tainter House (listed 1974, the first), 1 historic district, the Menomonie Downtown Historic District, with 33 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 38 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Menomonie?
13% of Menomonie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
1889
