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History · Wausaukee

Wausaukee’s post office opened in 1895, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1930.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wausaukee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wausaukee began

When was Wausaukee founded?

1895

The Wausaukee post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Big Wausaukee (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 663 in 19302020 census: 596131 years
Founding year: the first Wausaukee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wausaukee’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Wausaukee’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wausaukee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wausaukee’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAdorn Beauty Shoppe, Route 141: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wausaukee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wausaukee.

Read it all →

Wausaukee is an Ojibwe word meaning 'distant land' (< wassa 'distant' + aki 'land'), or a Menominee word that means 'river among the hills'. The town was started in 1863 by John S. Monroe, who bought 160 acres of land from business tycoon Lars Kovala and built a mill to supply the railroads with lumber for bridges and culverts. His first building was a log cabin home that was also used to board the mill workers. As the town grew and more settlers moved in, his log cabin grew into an inn that was the only public eating establishment north of Green Bay.

On August 19, 2011, at 4:45pm, an EF1 tornado struck Wausaukee. One fatality was recorded.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wausaukee, 1885 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Big Wausaukee post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Big Wausaukee post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Wausaukee post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1953Born hereLyle Mays is born here
  7. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1992In the archiveAdorn Beauty Shoppe, Route 141
By decade

Wausaukee, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Adorn Beauty Shoppe, Route 1411992Adorn Beauty Shoppe, Route 141
Today5 recent
WausaukeeWisconsinDowntown1US1412009WausaukeeWisconsinDowntown1US1412009-0619-Wausaukee20092009-0619-Wausaukee2009-0619-Wausaukee-IceCream20092009-0619-Wausaukee-IceCreamWausaukeeWisconsin22006WausaukeeWisconsin2WausaukeeWisconsin2006WausaukeeWisconsin
On the map

Wausaukee on the map, 1963 to 1982

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

Wausaukee on the 1963 USGS mapWausaukee on the 1982 USGS map1963Wausaukee 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 Wausaukee.

Every building

Wausaukee, 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.

Wausaukee fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Wausaukee, census by census

010020030040050060070019401960198020002020Peak: 663

Between 557 and 663 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Wausaukee’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Big Wausaukee, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Big Wausaukee
1885–1895
Wausaukee
1895–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Wausaukee’s history

What year was Wausaukee founded?

The Wausaukee post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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 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.