Founding year: the first Whitehall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Whitehall’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitehall is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitehall’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 Whitehall’s 6.4 sits above most of its state (68% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Whitehall’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Whitehall was started in 1860 or 1861, in an area later known as Old Whitehall about a mile from the center of the current city, by Ole Knudtson. He came to Whitehall June 25, 1860, and opened a hotel and blacksmith shop. The proprietors of the town site were Benjamin Franklin Wing and Mr. Georges. A post office called Whitehall was first established in 1861. The city was named by Benjamin F. Wing, possibly after White Hall, Illinois and Whitehall, New York.
Passages that mention Whitehall, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 224Read the page →
Read the text
17, 1878. Whitehall was platted Jan. 20, 1874, and incorporated June 14, 1887. Eleva was platted Sept. 10, 1877, and incorporated Jan. 14, 1902. Osseo was platted Sept. 22, 1857, and incorporated Sept. 4, 1893. Independence was platted May 13, 1876, and was incorporated Dec. 16, 1885.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 272Read the page →
Read the text
Whitehall was probably named by Benjamin F. Wing, who platted Old Whitehall. Probably it was named from Whitehall in New York, though it may have been named from a hall painted white. It is possible, also, that the name was given by Ole Knudtson, or by Georges, co-partner with Mr. Wing in the townsite.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Whitehall, 1861 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Whitehall post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Whitehall rank for history?
Whitehall is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. 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 Whitehall?
One place: the Green Bay and Western Railroad Depot (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Whitehall?
19% of Whitehall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1974.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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