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CHistory
History · Pewaukee

Pewaukee was first counted by the census in 1880, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #283 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Pewaukee was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listing is the Hadfield Company Lime Kilns. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pewaukee began

When was Pewaukee founded?

1880

Pewaukee first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Duplainville (1856), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 566 in 18802020 census: 15,914146 years

How historic is Pewaukee?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pewaukee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pewaukee is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #283 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pewaukee’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±1.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 22%

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 Pewaukee’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Pewaukee’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 Pewaukee 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 Pewaukee change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1914, drew every building in Pewaukee.Famous sons and daughtersDavid Koepp, T. J. Watt and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pewaukee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pewaukee’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

Pewaukee on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Pewaukee on the 1892 USGS mapPewaukee on the 1906 USGS mapPewaukee on the 1959 USGS mapPewaukee on the 1971 USGS map1892Waukesha 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 Pewaukee.

Every building

Pewaukee, building by building, 1894–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pewaukee fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pewaukee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pewaukee.

Read it all →

The name Pewaukee is constructed upon aki or (w)aukee, which means "land" or "location" in several Algonquian languages. The significance and outright etymology of the initial syllable of the name is uncertain. Sources in Ojibwe nibiwaki "watery (i.e., swampy) place", Potawatomi pee-wauk-ee-wee-nick "the dusty water" or "lake of shells", and Menominee pee-wau-nau-kee "place of flint" have been suggested, as well as rather less unclear attributed meanings such as "snail lake," "flinty place," and "clean land".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pewaukee in 1880

Passages that mention Pewaukee, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Pewaukee Lake. — This is a noted as well as exceedingly beautiful sheet of water. As near as can be measured, one-half of it lies in the town of Pewaukee — the town taking its name from the lake — and the other half in the town of Delafield. It is nearly ten times as long as wide ; has high but not…
The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1880 · page 319Read the page →
Read the text

Pewaukee Lake. — This is a noted as well as exceedingly beautiful sheet of water. As near as can be measured, one-half of it lies in the town of Pewaukee — the town taking its name from the lake — and the other half in the town of Delafield. It is nearly ten times as long as wide ; has high but not precipitous banks most beautifully wooded, and deep, clear, cool water.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Pewaukee, named after the lake within its borders, of the same name, called by the Indians Pewauk-ee-we-nink, is, historically speaking, the oldest town in the county, next to Waukesha. The Cutler brothers and Henry Luther passed the summer of 1834 in the town of Waukesha, but notthe wi…
The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1880 · page 778Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Pewaukee, named after the lake within its borders, of the same name, called by the Indians Pewauk-ee-we-nink, is, historically speaking, the oldest town in the county, next to Waukesha. The Cutler brothers and Henry Luther passed the summer of 1834 in the town of Waukesha, but notthe winter of 1834-35. In the spring of 1835, people began settling in Pewaukee within a few weeks of the time when the Cutlers and others returned permanently to Waukesha.

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

Pewaukee, 1856 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Duplainville post office opens
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1931Post officeThe Duplainville post office closes
  6. 1963Born hereDavid Koepp is born here
  7. 1977Born hereChris McIntosh is born here
  8. 1994Born hereT. J. Watt is born here
  9. 1999Born hereWill McDonald IV is born here
By decade

Pewaukee, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Liberty Park (1)2023Liberty Park (1)Bluemound Road, Pewaukee (October 2023) 022023Bluemound Road, Pewaukee (October 2023) 02Bluemound Road, Pewaukee (October 2023) 012023Bluemound Road, Pewaukee (October 2023) 01Balmer Park2023Balmer ParkCollins 000341 165841 510082 45782017Collins 000341 165841 510082 45785 Photos of Milwaukee Road Passenger Trains Thanks to Roger Puta20165 Photos of Milwaukee Road Passenger Trains Thanks to…Pewaukee Road Overpass2015Pewaukee Road OverpassAmerican TV ^ Appliance (Closed)2012American TV ^ Appliance (Closed)Pewaukee2011PewaukeeHwy16East2006Hwy16EastWIMap-doton-Pewaukee-city2005WIMap-doton-Pewaukee-city
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pewaukee

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Hadfield Company Lime Kilns
Hadfield Company Lime Kilns
Structures
Hadfield Company Lime KilnsStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pewaukee, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,0001880190019201940196019802000202015,914

Grew from 566 people in 1880 to 15,914 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Pewaukee

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
David KoeppAmerican screenwriter and director · b. 1963
T. J. WattAmerican football player · b. 1994
Chris McIntoshAmerican football player · b. 1977
Will McDonald IVAmerican football player · b. 1999
B
Ben LandryAmerican rugby union player · b. 1991
A
Alvin J. RedfordAmerican politician and police officer · b. 1883
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Duplainville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
DuplainvilleEdgewood
Gone or out of use
Duplainville Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pewaukee
Pilgrims RestSaint Peter and Paul 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.

Waukesha66 historic placesADelafield1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLisbonIts storyCBrookfieldIts storyDMenomonee Falls21 historic placesB+

Questions about Pewaukee’s history

What year was Pewaukee founded?

The Pewaukee post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1999.

How does Pewaukee rank for history?

Pewaukee is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #283 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.

What is on the National Register in Pewaukee?

One place: the Hadfield Company Lime Kilns (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Pewaukee?

3% of Pewaukee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1993.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.