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B+History
History · Wabeno

Wabeno’s post office opened in 1897, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Chicago and North-Western Land Office and the Minertown-Oneva. Below: maps from 1972 on.

1897first post office
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wabeno began

When was Wabeno founded?

1897

The Wabeno post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Carter (1897), Padus (1901) and Soperton (1905), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,074129 years

How historic is Wabeno?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wabeno post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Wabeno’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wabeno is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wabeno’s overall grade.
Founding era1897, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.3% of homes (±5.2) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 21.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
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 Wabeno’s 21.3 sits above most of its state (83% 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 (±5.2 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 Wabeno’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 Wabeno are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wabeno, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wabeno’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wabeno’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Wabeno’s post office has been open since 1897. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Carter
1897–1955
Wabeno
1897–today
Padus
1901–1931
Soperton
1905–1956
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CarterMinertownOnevaPadusSoperton
Gone or out of use
Indian Community Hallbuilding
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wabeno
Forest HillLakeviewRoselandSaint AmbroseTrinity

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Wabeno, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wabeno yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wabeno is a town in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,074 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Wabeno and the unincorporated communities of Carter, Padus, and Soperton are located in the town. Wabeno is situated within Wisconsin's 7th congressional district.

Its first post office opened in 1897. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,166 to 1,074 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wabeno, 1897 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897BuiltChicago and North-Western Land Office is built
  3. 1897Post officeThe Carter post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe Wabeno post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Post officeThe Padus post office opens
  7. 1931Post officeThe Padus post office closes
  8. 1955Post officeThe Carter post office closes
  9. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wabeno, decade by decade

Today5 recent
WabenoWisconsinSkylineWIS322008WabenoWisconsinSkylineWIS32WabenoWisconsinDowntownWIS322008WabenoWisconsinDowntownWIS32WabenoWisconsinBandShell2008WabenoWisconsinBandShellWabenoHighSchool2008WabenoHighSchoolLarryTheLogrollerWabenoWisconsinWIS322008LarryTheLogrollerWabenoWisconsinWIS32
On the map

Wabeno on the map, 1972 to 1990

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

Wabeno on the 1972 USGS mapWabeno on the 1990 USGS map1972Wabeno sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wabeno.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Wabeno

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Chicago and North-Western Land Office
Chicago and North-Western Land Office, built 1897Minertown-Oneva
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Chicago and North-Western Land OfficeLate Victorian · Built 1897
Minertown-OnevaSite

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wabeno

Nobody well known was born in Wabeno itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
A
Alexander H. SmithAmerican mycologist · b. 1904
John A. GronouskiAmerican diplomat · b. 1919
Russ BauersAmerican baseball player · b. 1914
A
Armin LandeckAmerican printmaker and educator · b. 1905
Curt Berklundb. 1929
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BlackwellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSilver CliffIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFreedomIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaona2 historic placesA−TownsendIts storyDLakewood2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wabeno’s history

What year was Wabeno founded?

The Wabeno post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wabeno rank for history?

Wabeno is more historic than 65% 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 Wabeno?

Two places: the Chicago and North-Western Land Office (listed 1993) and the Minertown-Oneva (2010).

How old are the homes in Wabeno?

19% of Wabeno’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.