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History · Rantoul

Rantoul’s post office opened in 1859, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1859first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Rantoul began

When was Rantoul founded?

1859

The Rantoul post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 740167 years
Founding year: the first Rantoul post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rantoul’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 Rantoul are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rantoul’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rantoul’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rantoul’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
The story so far

Rantoul, in brief

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

Rantoul is a town in Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 740 at the 2020 census, down from 798 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Wells is located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 798 to 740 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Rantoul, 1859 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Rantoul post office opens
  3. 1861Born hereOtto Lerche is born here
  4. 1891Post officeThe Rantoul post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rantoul, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Rantoul WI Town Hall2017Rantoul WI Town HallWIMap-doton-Rantoul2004WIMap-doton-Rantoul
On the map

Rantoul on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Rantoul on the 1954 USGS mapRantoul on the 1974 USGS mapRantoul on the 1993 USGS map1954Chilton 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 Rantoul.

Places that used to be

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

Rantoul had its own post office from 1859 to 1891.

Rantoul
1859–1891
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wells
Gone or out of use
Hawthorne SchoolschoolLee SchoolschoolRiverview Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rantoul
Free GermanRantoulTrinity Lutheran

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.

HilbertIts storyB−Brillion1 historic placeBRocklandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChiltonIts storyB+CharlestownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrillion1 historic placeAWoodvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rantoul’s history

What year was Rantoul founded?

The Rantoul post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.