The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The first settlements were made at Wanatah in the 1850s when the railroad was extended to that point. Wanatah was platted in 1865. It was named for Wanata, a Native American leader.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Wanatah’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wanatah’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Wanatah
See all 9 →By decade
Wanatah, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumToday6 photos
National Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Wanatah is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Wanatah has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Everel S. Smith House in Westville, 7.8 miles away.
Wanatah and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Wanatah. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Everel S. Smith House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Wanatah?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Wanatah’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.













