Stanley’s post office opened in 1881, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #118 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Its Register listings are the L.I. Roe House and the Moon, D. R., Memorial Library. Its Register listings are the L.I. Roe House and the Moon, D. R., Memorial Library. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Stanley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stanley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stanley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #118 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 Stanley’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 Stanley’s 5.3 sits above most of its state (66% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±5.4 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 Stanley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Stanley was settled and platted in 1881 when the Wisconsin Central Railroad built its line through Chippewa County. The settlement was named for Lemuel C. Stanley, a merchant and railroad man from Chippewa Falls who was involved in that first plat. The post office was established in 1881. Charles Levesqua opened the first saloon, Matthew Shilts opened the first store, and Peter Durand built the first hotel. The first religious organization was a Union Sunday School begun in 1883, which initially met in a warehouse. A school was organized the following year. The main early industries were a small steam sawmill and some charcoal kilns built by the York Iron Company in 1887, which converted local wood to charcoal that was then shipped by rail to fire the company's smelter at Black River Falls. The Northwestern Lumber Company had a distributing warehouse in Stanley during the early 1880s. I…
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 Stanley post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Stanley rank for history?
Stanley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #118 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 Stanley?
Two places: the L.I. Roe House (listed 1980) and the Moon, D. R., Memorial Library (1985).
How old are the homes in Stanley?
33% of Stanley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1912
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