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BHistory
History · Ottawa

Ottawa’s post office opened in 1848, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #164 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1980.

1848first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ottawa began

When was Ottawa founded?

1848

The Ottawa post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,795 in 19802020 census: 3,646178 years

How historic is Ottawa?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Ottawa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Ottawa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ottawa is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #164 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ottawa’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±10.2) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 59%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 55%

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 Ottawa’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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.2 points). 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 Ottawa’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 Ottawa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Ottawa change.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Ottawa.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ottawa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ottawa’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

Ottawa on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Ottawa on the 1892 USGS mapOttawa on the 1906 USGS mapOttawa on the 1960 USGS mapOttawa on the 1971 USGS map1892Eagle 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 Ottawa.

Timeline

Ottawa, 1848 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Ottawa post office opens
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Ottawa post office closes
The story so far

Ottawa, in brief

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

Ottawa is a town in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,859 to 3,646 (-6%).

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

By decade

Ottawa, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Ottawa Cemetery2025Ottawa CemeteryWildlife in Need Center2024Wildlife in Need CenterUWM at Waukesha Field Station2024UWM at Waukesha Field StationOttawa Town Park 022023Ottawa Town Park 02Ottawa Town Park 012023Ottawa Town Park 01Nelson’s Woods 032023Nelson’s Woods 03Nelson’s Woods 022023Nelson’s Woods 02Nelson’s Woods 012023Nelson’s Woods 01Hunters Millpond 172023Hunters Millpond 17Hunters Lake (1)2023Hunters Lake (1)Bischel Dam 032023Bischel Dam 03Bischel Dam 022023Bischel Dam 02Ottawa Wisconsin Town Hall2013Ottawa Wisconsin Town Hall
People over time

Ottawa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000198020002020Peak: 3,859

Between 2,795 and 3,859 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ottawa

Nobody well known was born in Ottawa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Les PaulAmerican jazz guitarist, country guitarist, son… · b. 1915
Vernor VingeAmerican mathematician, computer scientist, and… · b. 1944
Gwen JorgensenAmerican triathlete · b. 1986
M
Michael RitchieAmerican film director · b. 1938
Brianna DeckerAmerican women's ice hockey player · b. 1991
Jane WiedlinAmerican musician · b. 1958
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Ottawa had its own post office from 1848 to 1902.

Ottawa
1848–1902
18401930today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ottawa
OttawaSaint Brunos Catholic

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.

DousmanIts storyC−North PrairieIts storyCSullivanIts storyCGenesee8 historic placesA−Eagle2 historic placesB+Summit3 historic placesA−

Questions about Ottawa’s history

What year was Ottawa founded?

The Ottawa post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ottawa rank for history?

Ottawa is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #164 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 Ottawa?

18% of Ottawa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (13), 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.