The Polar post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Muller's Lake (1879) and Sylvan Lake (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,018144 years
How historic is Polar?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Polar post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Polar’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Polar is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Polar’s overall grade.
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 Polar’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 (±7.8 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 Polar’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Polar, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Polar yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Polar is a town in Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,018 at the 2020 census. The town of Polar established a post office in 1882, until it was discontinued in 1887. In 1897, the town restored the post office, but it was eventually permanently discontinued in 1967. Polar is named after Hi. B. Polar. The area was originally a trading post operated during the 1850s and 1860s along a military road, which ran along Hi Polar Lake. This post was a stopping off point for mail carriers traveling to and from Green Bay and Ontonagon, Michigan.
Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 984 to 1,018 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Polar in 1922
Passages that mention Polar, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. government survey to present time, with biographical sketches1922 · page 185Read the page →
Read the text
and extended to the state line, but was cut down to 27 townships just before New County was created in 1879). When Langlade County was organized Ainsworth was a part of Polar township. In November, 1883, it was detached from Polar township and became a part of Price township. It remained under the jurisdiction of Price township but one year.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. government survey to present time, with biographical sketches1922 · page 231Read the page →
Read the text
On December 13, 1883, townships 32, 33, 34 of Ranges 13 and 14 East were detached from Polar and formed into a new township called Price. Polar has since been one congressional township. No. 31, North of Range 12 East.
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
Polar, 1879 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Polar post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Polar rank for history?
Polar is more historic than 44% 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 Polar?
23% of Polar’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1980.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
