More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #256 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Oak Creek was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1960.
The Oak Creek post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Oakwood (1874) and Carrollville (1917), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 9,372 in 19602020 census: 36,497190 years
How historic is Oak Creek?
C+
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Oak Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oak Creek’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Creek is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #256 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Creek’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 Oak Creek’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 B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 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 Oak Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
On January 2, 1838, the territorial legislature divided Milwaukee County into two towns: the Town of Milwaukee, encompassing everything north of the present Greenfield Avenue, and the Town of Lake encompassing everything south of the present Greenfield Avenue; "and the polls of election shall be opened at the house of Elisha Higgins, in said town." On March 8, 1839, a new Town of Kinnikennick was created, encompassing the western part of Lake (later the Towns of Greenfield and Franklin); finally, on August 13, 1840, the south portion of the Town of Lake was split off to form the town of Oak Creek. As of the 1840 census, the population of the Town of Lake (then including Oak Creek) was 418.
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 Oak Creek post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Oak Creek rank for history?
Oak Creek is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #256 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.
How old are the homes in Oak Creek?
3% of Oak Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (6), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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