The Vinland post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Clemansville (1868) and Allenville (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,769179 years
How historic is Vinland?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Vinland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Vinland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vinland is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vinland’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 Vinland’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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 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 Vinland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Vinland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Vinland is a town in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,769 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Allenville is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1847. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,765 in 2010, 1,769 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Vinland in 1880
Passages that mention Vinland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest1880 · page 235Read the page →
Read the text
The northern portion of the town, including two miles in width, was, from 1849 to 1856, a part of the Town of Vinland, and the first settlements in the original town were within the present limits of the city; the reader is therefore referred to the history of the city for early mcidents and experiences, not here alluded to.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest1880 · page 271Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Cronkhite migrated from Saratoga Springs, New York, in 'l'846, to Wisconsin, and in June 1847, settled in what subsequently became the town of Vinland. In 1848 he moved to the Village of Winnebago Rapids, now Neenah, and opened the first drug store in that place. He subsequently became mine host of the Winnebago Hotel; and among
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Vinland post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Vinland rank for history?
Vinland is more historic than 60% 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.
How old are the homes in Vinland?
19% of Vinland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
