History · Oakland

Oakland’s post office opened in 1900

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Oakland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1955 on.

1900first post office

0on the National Register

2%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Oakland began

When was Oakland founded?

1900

The Oakland post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Orange (1887) and Yellowlake (1903), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 980126 years

How historic is Oakland?

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Oakland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Oakland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakland is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

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

Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±1.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 8%

NewerOlder

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 Oakland’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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Oakland’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 Oakland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Oakland, and 1 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland’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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Oakland had its own post office from 1900 to 1916. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orange

1887–1920

Oakland

1900–1916

Yellowlake

1903–1955

18801950today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Yellow Lake

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakland

OaklandOrange

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

The story so far

Oakland, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oakland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oakland is a town in Burnett County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 980 at the 2020 census. It is along Wisconsin Highway 35. The unincorporated communities of Oakland and Yellow Lake are located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 827 to 980 (+19%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oakland, 1887 to 1955

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

19th century
1887Post officeThe Orange post office opens
20th century
1900Post officeThe Oakland post office opens
1903Post officeThe Yellowlake post office opens
1916Post officeThe Oakland post office closes
1920Post officeThe Orange post office closes
1955Post officeThe Yellowlake post office closes
1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Oakland on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

1955Webster 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 Oakland.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MeenonIts storyC⁻UnionIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town JacksonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town SwissIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Sand LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oakland’s history

What year was Oakland founded?

The Oakland post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Oakland rank for history?

Oakland is more historic than 8% 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 Oakland?

2% of Oakland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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