History · Mukwonago

Mukwonago’s post office opened in 1840, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #111 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Mukwonago was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1840first post office

3on the National Register

5%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Mukwonago began

When was Mukwonago founded?

1840

The Mukwonago post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 239 in 18802020 census: 8,262186 years

How historic is Mukwonago?

B⁺

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Mukwonago post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Mukwonago’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mukwonago is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #111 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mukwonago’s overall grade.

Founding era1840, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19405.4% of homes (±1.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C National Register3 listings, 24 historic buildings, 28.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 73%

NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 70%

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 Mukwonago’s 28.5 sits above most of its state (85% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Mukwonago’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mukwonago are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1994. Watch Mukwonago change.A historic districtThe Pearl and Grand Avenue Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Deep rootsA post office since 1840: 186 years of Mukwonago.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mukwonago’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mukwonago’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Mukwonago on the map, 1892 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mukwonago. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1892Eagle sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mukwonago.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 24 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1981

Sewall Andrews House

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

Gothic1

Late Victorian1

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1

Sewall Andrews HouseGreek Revival · Built 1842

United Unitarian and Universalist ChurchGothic · Built 1879

All 3 listings

Pearl and Grand Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Mukwonago came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mukwonago.

Read it all →

The area was originally a Native American village and the tribal seat of the Bear Clan of the Potawatomi Indians. The name "Mukwonago" is derived from mequanego which translates to bear's den. The spelling "Mukwonago" was adopted in 1844 because of the similarity to nearby Mequon. Many of the streets and roads are named after the city's founders, such as Ira Blood, Major Jessie Meacham, Sewall Andrews, and Thomas Sugden.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mukwonago in 1880

Passages that mention Mukwonago, cut from the printed page as they were published.

the United States. Mr. Sugden, in May, 1836, came up the lakes on the old New York, the first boat to run from Detroit to Milwaukee that spring ; landing at Milwaukee, he made his first visit and his first claim in Waukesha County, in June, 1836, claiming the northeast quarter of Sec. 19, in the pr… — **The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources**1880 · page 930Read the page →
Read the text
the United States. Mr. Sugden, in May, 1836, came up the lakes on the old New York, the first boat to run from Detroit to Milwaukee that spring ; landing at Milwaukee, he made his first visit and his first claim in Waukesha County, in June, 1836, claiming the northeast quarter of Sec. 19, in the present town of Mukwonago, the farm now owned by George Henderson ; this was his residence most of the time until the fall of 1843, when he settled on Sec. 14, in Eagle, remaining here until the fall of 1849, when he located on the southeast quarter of Sec. 29, Genesee, and has since been a resident of this town. In politics, an old-time Whig ; Mr. Sugden, since the organization of the Republican party, has been one of its most steadfast and loyal members ; he was appointed Notary Public by Gov. Nelson Dewey, in 1849,
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

Mukwonago, 1840 to 1892

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1840Post officeThe Mukwonago post office opens
1842BuiltSewall Andrews House is built
1879BuiltUnited Unitarian and Universalist Church is built
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

People over time

Mukwonago, census by census

Grew from 239 people in 1880 to 8,262 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mukwonago’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Mukwonago’s post office has been open since 1840.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Oak Knoll

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Vernon2 historic placesB East Troy1 historic placeA⁻

Questions about Mukwonago’s history

What year was Mukwonago founded?

The Mukwonago post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mukwonago rank for history?

Mukwonago is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #111 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 Mukwonago?

Three places: the Sewall Andrews House (listed 1981), the United Unitarian and Universalist Church (1987) and the Pearl and Grand Avenue Historic District (2004).

How old are the homes in Mukwonago?

5% of Mukwonago’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1990.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (22), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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 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.

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