Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1890.
The South Wayne post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Wayne’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Wayne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
South Wayne is a village in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 446 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 489 to 444 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Wayne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of South Wayne.
Between 285 and 495 people in every census since 1890.
12 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on South Wayne’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in South Wayne itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The South Wayne post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.
