Waunakee’s post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #288 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Waunakee was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the Waunakee Railroad Depot. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Waunakee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waunakee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waunakee is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #288 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waunakee’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 Waunakee’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Waunakee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
When the Chicago and Northwestern Railway wanted to expand its line from Madison to Saint Paul, a door was opened for the development of a town. Its original location was intended to be at Packham's Mill, about where Mill Road crosses the railroad track today two miles southeast of downtown. But two local settlers, Louis Baker and George Fish, platted a village on their land two miles further northwest along the railroad. Railroad officials agreed to move a train depot to the new community in exchange for $1,500 and two miles of right of way. The village was founded in 1871 and formally incorporated in 1893.
Passages that mention Waunakee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States1880 · page 312Read the page →
Read the text
crossing, 266 feet; station. 130, 273 feet; station 175, summit, 305 feet; station 262, summit, 325 feet; station 277, deep cut, surface, 355 feet; station 815, surface. Catfish Marsh, 255 feet ; station 315, grade, 277 feet ; station 400, 285 feet ; station 458, grade, 323 feet ; station 458, surface, 310 feqt ; station 520, Waunakee, 341 fpet ; station 570, 341 feet ; station 667, surface, 369 feet ; station 667, grade, 395 feet ; station 787, Dane depot, 477 feet ; station 900, 365 feet ; station 1002, surface of creek, 233 feet ; station 1002, grade, 267 feet.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 412Read the page →
Read the text
The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad enters on the south line at section 36, and passes through the town northwesterly, passing out at section 6. Waunakee is a flourishing village and station on section 8. Westport post office is on section 21. Lake Mendota covers a part of sections 33, 34, 35 and 36.
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.
Timeline
Waunakee, 1871 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Waunakee post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waunakee rank for history?
Waunakee is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #288 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.
What is on the National Register in Waunakee?
One place: the Waunakee Railroad Depot (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Waunakee?
3% of Waunakee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (1), 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), 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.
2009
2007
2007
2007
2004