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–Not graded
History · Winchester

Winchester’s post office opened in 1907, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Winchester began

When was Winchester founded?

1907

The Winchester post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 528119 years
Founding year: the first Winchester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Winchester’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Winchester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winchester’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Winchester, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Winchester yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Winchester is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 528 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Winchester—locally known as the "Winchester Townsite"—is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 383 to 528 (+38%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Winchester, 1907 to 1966

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907Post officeThe Winchester post office opens
  3. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1966Post officeThe Winchester post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Winchester on the map, 1955 to 1981

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

Winchester on the 1955 USGS mapWinchester on the 1981 USGS map1955Winchester 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 Winchester.

Famous people

Famous people close to Winchester

Nobody well known was born in Winchester itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Frank OlsonAmerican chemist · b. 1910
Renee EllmersFormer U.S. Representative from North Carolina · b. 1964
Lise Anne CoutureArchitect · b. 1959
Raymond Joseph CannonPolitician, lawyer, baseball pitcher · b. 1894
Tony AveRacecar driver · b. 1968
William C. Gribble, Jr.United States general · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Winchester had its own post office from 1907 to 1966.

Winchester
1907–1966
19001960today
1cemetery inside Winchester
Winchester Memorial

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.

Presque IsleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManitowish Waters1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOma1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMercerIts storyC

Questions about Winchester’s history

What year was Winchester founded?

The Winchester post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.