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B−History
History · Packwaukee

Packwaukee dates to 1849, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1961 on.

1849founded
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Packwaukee began

When was Packwaukee founded?

1849

Packwaukee dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1846.

2020 census: 1,469177 years

How historic is Packwaukee?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1846.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Packwaukee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Packwaukee is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Packwaukee’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±4.0) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−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 53%
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 Packwaukee’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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1849.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Packwaukee’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 Packwaukee are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Packwaukee.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Packwaukee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Packwaukee’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
Timeline

Packwaukee, 1846 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Rock Hill post office opens
  3. 1849
    FoundingPackwaukee is established
  4. 1850Post officeThe Packwaukee post office opens
  5. 1858Post officeThe Rock Hill post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Packwaukee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Packwaukee.

Read it all →

Packwaukee was settled in 1849 by E. Pettengill, E. T. Older, C. G. Barker, Jesse Older, William Ewen, David Phelps, S. A. Pease, John Chapman, E. King, and Samuel Wayman.

A railroad line was constructed in 1881 to connect the Montello Granite Co. quarry to Packwaukee and the Wisconsin Central Railroad. In 1884, a depot was moved to Packwaukee. It was 20 by 40 ft (6.1 by 12.2 m) and had a waiting room, agent room, and small baggage room. It burned to the ground at 3:00 a.m. on January 11, 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Packwaukee, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Packwaukee Cell Tower2014Packwaukee Cell TowerCell Tower near Montello2014Cell Tower near MontelloPackwaukee Wisconsin Sign CountyD2012Packwaukee Wisconsin Sign CountyDPackwaukee Wisconsin Presbyterian Church2012Packwaukee Wisconsin Presbyterian ChurchPackwaukee Wisconsin Panorama Across Frozen Buffalo Lake on Fox River2012Packwaukee Wisconsin Panorama Across Frozen Buffalo L…Packwaukee Wisconsin Looking East2012Packwaukee Wisconsin Looking EastPackwaukee Wisconsin Downtown Looking North CountyD2012Packwaukee Wisconsin Downtown Looking North CountyD
On the map

Packwaukee on the map, 1961 to 1984

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

Packwaukee on the 1961 USGS mapPackwaukee on the 1984 USGS map1961Montello 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 Packwaukee.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Packwaukee’s post office has been open since 1850. Another post office, Rock Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rock Hill
1846–1858
Packwaukee
1850–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buffalo Shore Estates
1cemetery inside Packwaukee
Oak Hill

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.

MoundvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontelloIts storyCHarrisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuffalo1 historic placeBOxfordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShieldsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Packwaukee’s history

What year was Packwaukee founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Packwaukee’s post office opened in 1846.

How does Packwaukee rank for history?

Packwaukee is more historic than 53% 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 Packwaukee?

13% of Packwaukee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.