Founding year: the first Washburn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Washburn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washburn is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washburn’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 Washburn’s 180 sits above most of its state (97% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±5.1 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 Washburn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1659, the French explorers Radisson and Groseilliers touched here on their trip along the south shore of Lake Superior. In 1665 the Jesuit Claude-Jean Allouez established on the shore of the bay, a short distance south of the present city, the first French mission in Wisconsin. He named it "La Pointe du Saint Esprit," and in 1669 it was placed in charge of Father Jacques Marquette. The place was visited by Daniel Greysolon (Du Luth) in 1681–1682, and here in 1693 Pierre-Charles Le Sueur built a stockaded post. In 1718 a fort was erected and a French garrison placed in it. About 1820–1821 a trading post of the American Fur Company was established in the area.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Washburn post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Washburn rank for history?
Washburn is more historic than 82% 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 Washburn?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Bayfield County Courthouse (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the East Third Street Residential Historic District, with 31 contributing buildings. 34 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Washburn?
29% of Washburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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