West Allis’ post office opened in 1902, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #152 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 54 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first West Allis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Allis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Allis is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #152 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Allis’ 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 West Allis’ 10.6 sits above most of its state (77% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 63 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 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 West Allis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, whose Edward P. Allis Company was a large Milwaukee-area manufacturing firm in the late 19th century. In 1901, the Allis company became Allis-Chalmers. In 1902, the company built a large new manufacturing plant west of its existing plant. The locale in which the new plant was constructed was at the time called North Greenfield; prior to the 1880s, the area had been called Honey Creek. With the building of the western Allis plant, the area was incorporated as the Village of West Allis, and it became the City of West Allis in 1906.
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 West Allis post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Allis rank for history?
West Allis is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #152 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 West Allis?
9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the West Allis Post Office (listed 2001, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Juneau Highlands Residential Historic District and the Kopperud Park Residential Historic District, with 54 contributing buildings. 63 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in West Allis?
26% of West Allis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.
1908