Wauwatosa’s post office opened in 1846, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #8 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
22 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and five historic districts with 368 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Wauwatosa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wauwatosa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wauwatosa is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #8 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wauwatosa’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 Wauwatosa’s 80.0 sits above most of its state (93% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 388 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 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 Wauwatosa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The lush Menomonee Valley of the Wauwatosa area provided a key overland gateway between the rich glacial farmland of southeastern Wisconsin and the Port of Milwaukee. In 1835, Charles Hart became the first Euro-American to settle here, followed that year by 17 other families. The following year a United States Road was built from Milwaukee through Wauwatosa, eventually reaching Madison. Charles Hart built a mill in 1845 on the Menomonee River which gave the settlement its original name of "Hart's Mill." The mill was torn down in 1914.
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 Wauwatosa post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wauwatosa rank for history?
Wauwatosa is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Wauwatosa?
22 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 16 buildings, among them the Dr. Fisk Holbrook Day House (a National Historic Landmark since 1997) and the Lowell Damon House (listed 1972, the first), 5 historic districts with 368 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 388 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Wauwatosa?
29% of Wauwatosa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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) 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.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
1892
1892
