South Milwaukee’s post office opened in 1891, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #133 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1900.
From South Milwaukee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How South Milwaukee began
When was South Milwaukee founded?
1891
The South Milwaukee post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint Mary's (1843), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,392 in 19002020 census: 20,795135 years
How historic is South Milwaukee?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first South Milwaukee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Milwaukee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Milwaukee is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #133 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Milwaukee’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 South Milwaukee’s 2.4 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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 South Milwaukee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Milwaukee. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Bayview 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 South Milwaukee.
On the National Register
4 historic places in South Milwaukee
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
South Milwaukee was laid out in 1891 by the South Milwaukee company within the Town of Oak Creek, with the purpose of serving as a rival industrial suburb of the City of Milwaukee, and was named from its location south of Milwaukee. South Milwaukee was incorporated as a village in 1892, then as a city in 1897. South Milwaukee has a rich immigrant history, as immigrants from England and Germany made up a large portion of the population in the early 1900s.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The South Milwaukee post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does South Milwaukee rank for history?
South Milwaukee is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #133 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 South Milwaukee?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the South Milwaukee Passenger Station (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Oak Creek Parkway, with 2 contributing buildings. 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in South Milwaukee?
25% of South Milwaukee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.
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