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TheresaWisconsinDowntownWIS175YellowstoneTrailPhoto: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
AHistory
History · Theresa

Theresa’s post office opened in 1846, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Solomon and Josette Juneau House and the Widmer' s Cheese Cellars. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1880.

1846first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Theresa began, and where its name came from

When was Theresa founded?

1846

The Theresa post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 277 in 18802020 census: 1,255180 years

How did Theresa get its name?

Theresa was named for Solomon's mother, (Marie-)Thérèse Galarneau Juneau.

How historic is Theresa?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Theresa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Theresa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Theresa is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Theresa’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.3% of homes (±5.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 21.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder

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 Theresa’s 21.8 sits above most of its state (83% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 Theresa’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Theresa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Theresa.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Theresa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Theresa’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Theresa, 1846 to 1955

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Theresa post office opens
  3. 1894Born hereArmand James Quick is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Theresa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Theresa.

Read it all →

Theresa was founded by Solomon Juneau along with his Metis wife, Josette Vieau Juneau, and children in the 1850s. It was named for Solomon's mother, (Marie-)Thérèse Galarneau Juneau.

During World War I, more than 600 people from over a dozen surrounding communities prevented former mayor of Milwaukee and Socialist party member Emil Seidel from holding a "pro-German" meeting in Theresa.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Theresa, decade by decade

Today11 recent
United States Post Office in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 May 2024)2024United States Post Office in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 M…Theresa Police Dept. in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 May 2024, 2 of 2)2024Theresa Police Dept. in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 May 20…Theresa Police Dept. in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 May 2024, 1 of 2)2024Theresa Police Dept. in Theresa, Wisconsin (15 May 20…TheresaWisconsinDowntownWIS175YellowstoneTrail2011TheresaWisconsinDowntownWIS175YellowstoneTrailTheresaTownWisconsinTownhall2011TheresaTownWisconsinTownhallTheresaHistoricalSocietySolomonJuneauHouse2011TheresaHistoricalSocietySolomonJuneauHouseTheresaWisconsinSignWIS28WIS672009TheresaWisconsinSignWIS28WIS67TheresaWisconsinSignWIS28IWIS672009TheresaWisconsinSignWIS28IWIS67TheresaWisconsinPublicLibrary2009TheresaWisconsinPublicLibraryTheresaWisconsinDowntown1WIS175WIS28WIS672009TheresaWisconsinDowntown1WIS175WIS28WIS67Theresa Tower2008Theresa Tower
On the map

Theresa on the map, 1955 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Theresa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Theresa on the 1955 USGS mapTheresa on the 1974 USGS map1955Campbellsport 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 Theresa.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Theresa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2024
Solomon and Josette Juneau House
Solomon and Josette Juneau HouseWidmer' s Cheese Cellars
Buildings
All 2 listings
Solomon and Josette Juneau HouseBuilding · listed 2024Widmer' s Cheese CellarsBuilding · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Theresa, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,262

Between 277 and 1,262 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Theresa’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Theresa’s history

What year was Theresa founded?

The Theresa post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Theresa rank for history?

Theresa is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. 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 Theresa?

Two places: the Solomon and Josette Juneau House (listed 2024) and the Widmer' s Cheese Cellars (2025).

How old are the homes in Theresa?

22% of Theresa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1992.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (11), 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) 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.