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B−History
History · Wolf River

Wolf River’s post office opened in 1862, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.

1862first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wolf River began

When was Wolf River founded?

1862

The Wolf River post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Orihula (1865), Zittau (1881) and Metz (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,203164 years

How historic is Wolf River?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wolf River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Wolf River’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wolf River is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wolf River’s overall grade.
Founding era1862, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194027.0% of homes (±12.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder

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 Wolf River’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±12.5 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 Wolf River’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 Wolf River are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wolf River, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wolf River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wolf River’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wolf River had its own post office from 1862 to 1885. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wolf River
1862–1885
Orihula
1865–1903
Zittau
1881–1903
Metz
1898–1908
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MetzOrihulaZittau
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wolf River
BeckerLake ViewPrellwitzSaint PaulsWolf RiverZittau

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

The story so far

Wolf River, in brief

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

Wolf River is a town in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,203 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Orihula and Zittau are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Metz is also located partially in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1862. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,189 in 2010, 1,203 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Wolf River in 1880

Passages that mention Wolf River, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The town of Orihula was organized by the County Board, January 4, i855i and the name subsequently changed to Wolf River. (See Town of Wolf River.) Two days later, January 6, the Town of Menasha was set off from Neenah, and organized. (See Town of Menasha.)
History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest1880Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Orihula was organized by the County Board, January 4, i855i and the name subsequently changed to Wolf River. (See Town of Wolf River.) Two days later, January 6, the Town of Menasha was set off from Neenah, and organized. (See Town of Menasha.)

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the Town of Dale, in Outagamie County, east by Clayton, south by Winneconne, and west by the Town of Wolf River. The northern part is generally low and level, with occasional low hills and ridges, and frequent marshes, which in some places produce cedar and tamarack; but are generally of little val…
History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and early history of the Northwest1880 · page 273Read the page →
Read the text

the Town of Dale, in Outagamie County, east by Clayton, south by Winneconne, and west by the Town of Wolf River. The northern part is generally low and level, with occasional low hills and ridges, and frequent marshes, which in some places produce cedar and tamarack; but are generally of little value.

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

Wolf River, 1862 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Wolf River post office opens
  3. 1865Post officeThe Orihula post office opens
  4. 1881Post officeThe Zittau post office opens
  5. 1885Post officeThe Wolf River post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Orihula post office closes
  8. 1903Post officeThe Zittau post office closes
  9. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Wolf River on the map, 1961 to 1975

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

Wolf River on the 1961 USGS mapWolf River on the 1975 USGS map1961Lake Poygan sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wolf River.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

WinchesterIts storyB−FremontIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBloomfieldIts storyC+TustinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPoyganIts storyCCaledoniaIts storyC+

Questions about Wolf River’s history

What year was Wolf River founded?

The Wolf River post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wolf River rank for history?

Wolf River is more historic than 47% 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.

How old are the homes in Wolf River?

27% of Wolf River’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1966.

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.