Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Denmark’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Denmark is more historic than 41% 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 New Denmark’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 New Denmark’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1855.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).
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 New Denmark’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
New Denmark was settled by Danish immigrants in 1848, making it the oldest Danish settlement in the United States.
The Town of New Denmark had a post office called Cooperstown, which was later renamed "New Denmark". Cooperstown is now part of Manitowoc County. On March 8, 1855, the Brown County Board of Supervisors split New Denmark off from the town of De Pere, creating the Town of New Denmark.
On June 15, 1915, the community of Denmark, the commercial center of the Town of New Denmark, held a special election on the issue of incorporation. The official vote tally was 109 in favor, and 26 against. Later that year, Denmark was officially incorporated into a village.
Passages that mention New Denmark, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present1913 · page 339Read the page →
Read the text
in what is now New Denmark, Brown county, when that district was still a wilderness and part of De Pere. He and his family were the first settlers in the district and when it was set apart from De Pere they named the little town which they founded after their native country. The father became one of the leading citizens of New Denmark and held at various times practically all the township offices. He died February 22, 1894, at the age of eighty years. His wife lived until April 12, 1898, her death occurring when she was seventy-six years of age, and she is buried beside her husband
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present1913 · page 133Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Anderson is recognized as one of the enterprising, progressive and substantial farmers of New Denmark. In transforming a tract of untouched timber land into an excellent modern farm he has accomplished a definite work and has gained prosperity, founded on hard work and efficiency.
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
New Denmark, 1855 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. New Denmark’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 2000 counted 1,482 people here.
How does New Denmark rank for history?
New Denmark is more historic than 41% 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 New Denmark?
20% of New Denmark’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1982.
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), 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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