The Stockton post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Arnott (1882), Fancher (1891) and Heffron (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,018168 years
How historic is Stockton?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stockton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Stockton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stockton is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #280 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Stockton’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 Stockton’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 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 Stockton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Stockton had its own post office from 1858 to 1933. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Stockton
1858–1933
Custer
1876–today
Arnott
1882–1934
Fancher
1891–1913
Heffron
1901–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArnottCusterFancher
Gone or out of use
Arnott SchoolschoolHeffron SchoolschoolMengel Sand and Gravel PitmineMorrill SchoolschoolOakland SchoolschoolPrairie SchoolschoolSomers Gravel PitmineStockton SchoolschoolTown Hall Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Stockton
LombardMorrillSaint Mary of Mount Carmel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Stockton, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Stockton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Stockton is a town in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,018 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Arnott, Custer, Fancher, and Stockton are located in Stockton.
Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,917 to 3,018 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Stockton, 1858 to 1969
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Stockton post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Stockton rank for history?
Stockton is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #280 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.
How old are the homes in Stockton?
13% of Stockton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (1), 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.
2004
