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A−History
History · Whitefish Bay

Whitefish Bay’s post office opened in 1874, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #79 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

12 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
12on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Whitefish Bay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Whitefish Bay began

When was Whitefish Bay founded?

1874

The Whitefish Bay post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 512 in 19002020 census: 14,954152 years

How historic is Whitefish Bay?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Whitefish Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Whitefish Bay’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitefish Bay is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #79 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitefish Bay’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194041.6% of homes (±4.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register12 listings, 8.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 78%

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 Whitefish Bay’s 8.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 12 listings outnumber those of 77% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). 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 Whitefish Bay’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Whitefish Bay change.Landmarks on the Register12 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Whitefish Bay’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whitefish Bay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWhite Fish Bay from pier, Wisconsin: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Whitefish Bay on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Whitefish Bay on the 1892 USGS mapWhitefish Bay on the 1901 USGS mapWhitefish Bay on the 1958 USGS mapWhitefish Bay on the 1971 USGS map1892Milwaukee 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 Whitefish Bay.

On the National Register

12 historic places in Whitefish Bay

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
12
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Herman Uihlein House
Herman Uihlein House, built 1918Barfield-Staples House, built 1924Frank J. Williams House, built 1925Frederick Sperling House, built 1924G. B. Van Devan House, built 1925George Gabel House, built 1925Halbert D. Jenkins House, built 1924Harrison Hardie House, built 1925Horace W. Hatch House, built 1925John F. McEwens House, built 1925William Van Altena House, built 1925Fred W. Ullius Jr. House, built 1925
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Stone Masonry11
Italian Renaissance1
Herman Uihlein HouseItalian Renaissance · Built 1918
Barfield-Staples HouseStone Masonry · Built 1924
Frank J. Williams HouseStone Masonry · Built 1925
Frederick Sperling HouseStone Masonry · Built 1924
G. B. Van Devan HouseStone Masonry · Built 1925
George Gabel HouseStone Masonry · Built 1925
Halbert D. Jenkins HouseStone Masonry · Built 1924
Harrison Hardie HouseStone Masonry · Built 1925
All 12 listings
Horace W. Hatch HouseBuilding · listed 1985John F. McEwens HouseBuilding · listed 1985William Van Altena HouseBuilding · listed 1985Fred W. Ullius Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1987

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Whitefish Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whitefish Bay.

Read it all →

In the early 19th century when the first white settlers arrived, the Whitefish Bay area was controlled by Native Americans, including the Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sauk people. The area came under the control of the United States Federal Government in 1832 when the Menominee surrendered their claims to the land by signing the Treaty of Washington. The land was organized as part of the Town of Milwaukee in 1835, and for much of the 19th century, the community's main economic activities were farming and fishing. Many of the early settlers were German immigrants.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Whitefish Bay, 1874 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Whitefish Bay post office opens
  3. 1880In the archiveWhite Fish Bay from pier, Wisconsin
  4. 1891Post officeThe Whitefish Bay post office closes
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1898In the archiveWhitefish Bay, Wisconsin
  7. 20th century
  8. 1918BuiltHerman Uihlein House is built
  9. 1924BuiltBarfield-Staples House is built
  10. 1924BuiltFrederick Sperling House is built
  11. 1925BuiltFrank J. Williams House is built
By decade

Whitefish Bay, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s3 items
White Fish Bay from pier, Wisconsin1880White Fish Bay from pier, WisconsinWhite Fish [sic] Bay from terrace1880White Fish [sic] Bay from terraceWhitefish Bay, Wisconsin1898Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
1900s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

White Fish Bay from pier, Wisconsin
Retake this viewWhite Fish Bay from pier, Wisconsin, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Whitefish Bay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Whitefish Bay, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 18,390

Between 512 and 18,390 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Whitefish Bay had its own post office from 1874 to 1891.

Whitefish Bay
1874–1891
18701950today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Glendale2 historic placesB−Shorewood9 historic placesB+Milwaukee212 historic placesA+Fox Point3 historic placesB+

Questions about Whitefish Bay’s history

What year was Whitefish Bay founded?

The Whitefish Bay post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Whitefish Bay rank for history?

Whitefish Bay is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #79 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 Whitefish Bay?

12 listings: 12 buildings, among them the Herman Uihlein House (listed 1983, the first).

How old are the homes in Whitefish Bay?

42% of Whitefish Bay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1944.

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).

From the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (12), Wikipedia, 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.