West Bend’s post office opened in 1848, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #68 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 109 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
The West Bend post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1885. Two smaller post offices, Salisbury's Mills (1846) and Barton (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,058 in 18702020 census: 31,752178 years
How historic is West Bend?
A−
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Bend post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1885.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Bend’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Bend is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #68 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Bend’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 West Bend’s 37.8 sits above most of its state (87% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 121 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1885.
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 Bend’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
West Bend, building by building, 1884–1919
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 year, then a sheet.
Northeastern Washington County's earliest known inhabitants were pre-Columbian Mound Builders, who constructed effigy mounds in the area sometime between 650 CE and 1300 CE. They were semi-nomadic and survived by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants. They made pottery and constructed tools from bone, wood, stone, and occasionally copper. They built effigy mounds shaped like mammals, reptiles, birds and other creatures, both real and mythical, as well as conical, oval, and linear mounds, some of which contain human burials. Some mounds in the West Bend area were destroyed by settlers to create farm fields, but several dozen survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Washington County "Island" Effigy Mound District, which includes the Lizard Mound County Park site in nearby Farmington as well as several privately owned sites.
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 Bend post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.
How does West Bend rank for history?
West Bend is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Bend?
11 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Gadow's Mill (listed 1974, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Barton Historic District and the West Bend Downtown Historic District, with 109 contributing buildings. 121 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in West Bend?
11% of West Bend’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, 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.
