Suamico’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #259 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Suamico was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listing is the Henry House. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 2000.
The Suamico post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Flintville (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 8,686 in 20002020 census: 12,820169 years
How historic is Suamico?
C+
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Suamico post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Suamico’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Suamico is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #259 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Suamico’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 Suamico’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±3.4 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 Suamico’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
"The Indian name Oussuamigong, now spelled Suamico, has several disputed meanings. Father Chrysostom Verwyst explains the meaning as 'place of the yellow beaver.' Father Jones translates it as 'at the beaver's tale.' Rev. E.P. Wheeler of Ashland, whose study of the Wisconsin Indians has made him an authority, says it means 'yellow residence place.' It has also been accepted that it means 'point or tail of land,' or 'the beaver's tail,' which suits us best."
It is believed that the name comes from an Indian word meaning small or little beaver, although this has not been determined with certainty. The original settlement of Suamico was a small fishing community on Green Bay. Little evidence of it, apart from some small housing plots, remains.
Passages that mention Suamico, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present1913 · page 436Read the page →
Read the text
Otto C. Giese attended the schools of his native town until fourteen years of age and then worked in a box factory for a few years, subsequently becoming a cheese maker. In 1908 he purchased the factory at Big Suamico and has since been successfully engaged in its conduct. He is now adding a creamery to the plant and when this is erected will have the most complete factory for the handling of dairy products in Suamico. A young man of enterprise and ability, he has already won a creditable measure of prosperity in his business undertakings and well deserves representation among
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Brown County, Wisconsin, past and present1913 · page 375Read the page →
Read the text
seven years. In 1867 he came to Brown count)', Wisconsin, and was here employed in sawmills for four years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode on a farm of eighty acres which he had purchased in Suamico township and turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits. As time passed and his financial resources increased, owing to his untiring industry and able management, he extended the boundaries of his place by additional purchase until it now embraces four hundred and eighteen acres.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Suamico, 1857 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Suamico post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Suamico rank for history?
Suamico is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #259 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 Suamico?
One place: the Henry House (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Suamico?
6% of Suamico’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
