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Waterford, WIPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
B−History
History · Waterford

Waterford’s post office opened in 1849, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #203 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1860.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Waterford began

When was Waterford founded?

1849

The Waterford post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 418 in 18602020 census: 5,542177 years

How historic is Waterford?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Waterford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waterford is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #203 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waterford’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.1% of homes (±4.6) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 44%

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 Waterford’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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 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 Waterford’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 Waterford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1994. Watch Waterford change.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Waterford.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterford’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
On the map

Waterford on the map, 1891 to 1994

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

Waterford on the 1891 USGS mapWaterford on the 1901 USGS mapWaterford on the 1959 USGS mapWaterford on the 1971 USGS mapWaterford on the 1994 USGS map1891Muskego 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 Waterford.

Timeline

Waterford, 1849 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Waterford post office opens
  3. 1862Born hereCharlie Ganzel is born here
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1986Born hereSam Alvey is born here
  7. 1987Born hereRae Lin D'Alie is born here
The story so far

Waterford, in brief

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

Waterford is a village in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,542 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,368 to 5,542 (+3%).

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

By decade

Waterford, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Waterford52012Waterford5Waterford42012Waterford4Waterford32012Waterford3Waterford22012Waterford2Waterford12012Waterford1WIMap-doton-Waterford2004WIMap-doton-Waterford
Every building

Waterford, building by building, 1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Waterford fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Waterford, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0001900195020005,542

Grew from 418 people in 1860 to 5,542 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Waterford

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Rae Lin D'AlieAmerican basketball player · b. 1987
Sam AlveyAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1986
Charlie GanzelAmerican baseball player · b. 1862
Places that used to be

Old corners

Waterford’s post office has been open since 1849.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Harbor Heights

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

TichiganIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRochester2 historic placesA−

Questions about Waterford’s history

What year was Waterford founded?

The Waterford post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Waterford rank for history?

Waterford is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #203 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.

How old are the homes in Waterford?

11% of Waterford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 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 (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.