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2019-08-15 RecPlex from North Side Lake Andrea (2)Photo: Garrison Point · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · Pleasant Prairie

Pleasant Prairie’s post office opened in 1836

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #237 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Pleasant Prairie was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1990.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Garrison Point · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Pleasant Prairie began

When was Pleasant Prairie founded?

1836

The Pleasant Prairie post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Truesdell (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 11,961 in 19902020 census: 21,250190 years

How historic is Pleasant Prairie?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pleasant Prairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pleasant Prairie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pleasant Prairie is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #237 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pleasant Prairie’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.7% of homes (±1.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 42%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 35%

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 Pleasant Prairie’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 (±1.8 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 Pleasant Prairie’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 Pleasant Prairie 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 Pleasant Prairie change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Pleasant Prairie, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Pleasant Prairie.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pleasant Prairie’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasant Prairie’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

Pleasant Prairie on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Pleasant Prairie on the 1892 USGS mapPleasant Prairie on the 1905 USGS mapPleasant Prairie on the 1958 USGS mapPleasant Prairie on the 1971 USGS map1892Racine 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 Pleasant Prairie.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Pleasant Prairie’s post office has been open since 1836. Another post office, Truesdell, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pleasant Prairie
1836–today
Truesdell
1876–1953
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
City View Mobile Home CommunityState LineTimber RidgeTobinTruesdellWestwood Estates
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pleasant Prairie
Kenosha CountySpring Brook

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

The story

How Pleasant Prairie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasant Prairie.

Read it all →

The Pleasant Prairie area was the center of Native American activity in pre-pioneer Wisconsin. Some of the earliest traces of Native American life in Wisconsin have been found along State Highway 32 and State Highway 165, Barnes Creek, and in the Carol Beach area.

The early Native American campsites were located along what was once the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Pleasant Prairie also saw pioneers arrive in Wisconsin on the Jambeau Trail, now known as Green Bay Road. In addition, several natural historic sites such as the Chiwaukee Prairie and the Kenosha Sand Dunes lie undisturbed in Pleasant Prairie.

ChaptersSettlementGunpowder plant catastropheEstablishing independenceBecoming a village

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pleasant Prairie, 1836 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe Pleasant Prairie post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Truesdell post office opens
  4. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1953Post officeThe Truesdell post office closes
By decade

Pleasant Prairie, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Pleasant Prairie Culvers2026Pleasant Prairie CulversSouthern terminus of Kenosha County Bike Trail at Wisconsin-Illinois line - June 20252025Southern terminus of Kenosha County Bike Trail at Wis…Russell Rd west - Illinois-Wisconsin line - June 20252025Russell Rd west - Illinois-Wisconsin line - June 2025Russell Rd east - Illinois-Wisconsin line - June 20252025Russell Rd east - Illinois-Wisconsin line - June 2025Kenosha County Bike Trail at WIS 165 - June 20252025Kenosha County Bike Trail at WIS 165 - June 2025Kenosha County Bike Trail at Springbrook Rd - Pleasant Prairie, WI - June 20252025Kenosha County Bike Trail at Springbrook Rd - Pleasan…Carol Beach Sign in Summer2020Carol Beach Sign in Summer2019-08-15 RecPlex from North Side Lake Andrea (2)20192019-08-15 RecPlex from North Side Lake Andrea (2)Pleasant Prairie storage facility2014Pleasant Prairie storage facilityChesrow Site2014Chesrow SiteMeasurement of snow accumulation in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin during snowfall2011Measurement of snow accumulation in Pleasant Prairie …Accumulation covering car in2011Accumulation covering car inJelly Belly Plant2007Jelly Belly PlantWIMap-doton-Pleasant Prairie2004WIMap-doton-Pleasant Prairie
People over time

Pleasant Prairie, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00020002020Peak: 21,250

Between 11,961 and 21,250 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pleasant Prairie

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

See all →
Orson WellesAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1915
Mark RuffaloAmerican actor · b. 1967
Gary ColemanAmerican actor · b. 1968
Don AmecheAmerican actor · b. 1908
B
Bert Ira GordonAmerican filmmaker · b. 1922
M
Margaret LandonAmerican writer, missionary · b. 1903
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kenosha22 historic placesABristolIts storyB−

Questions about Pleasant Prairie’s history

What year was Pleasant Prairie founded?

The Pleasant Prairie post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pleasant Prairie rank for history?

Pleasant Prairie is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #237 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 Pleasant Prairie?

6% of Pleasant Prairie’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 1996.

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 (14), Wikipedia, 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.