Abandoned Towns
Aerial view of the Fox River winding through marsh and farmland, with the houses and trees of Island Park on the south bank at center

River and lake town

Delhi

A trading town on the Fox River, laid out in 1849 with a main street called Broadway and a hotel of 22 rooms. Better bridges and the railroad took its trade to Omro, and it emptied. Its ground is now the Island Park neighborhood, and a marker went up in July 2026.

44°01′22″N 88°48′08″W · ≈750 ft

Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).

Town gone · site is private homes

The Winnebago County Historical Society dedicated a marker for Delhi on July 17, 2026, off County Road E near the Fox River, FOX11 reported. The report doesn't say exactly where it stands, and we haven't confirmed it. The townsite itself is the Island Park neighborhood of private homes along Island Avenue. Wikipedia says one run-down house from Delhi's time survives and that Luke and Louisa La Borde are buried on the property, but gives no date, and we couldn't verify either. Look from the public road.

Overview

Broadway on the Fox

Delhi stood on the south bank of the Fox River where Waukau Creek comes in, between Omro and Eureka in the town of Rushford. Long before it, Native people gathered on this ground and buried their dead in mounds, and settlers kept plowing up pottery, beads and copper. Luke La Borde, a French Canadian trader, started the settlement in 1846 by the Winnebago County Historical Society's account, and patented 145 acres in 1848. People also called it La Borde's Landing.

The town was surveyed on July 17, 1849, with even lots and a main street, Broadway, 82½ feet wide. It had big plans and, for a while, the trade to back them. La Borde built a floating bridge for farmers heading to the mills at Waukau. Delhi had three stores, two grain mills, three hop mills and a hop press, a sawmill, a boat and furniture trade, a school, a livery, a bar and a 22-room hotel. Steamboats tied up at its dock, a daily stage ran from Oshkosh, and its hops went to the brewers of Oshkosh and Milwaukee. Delhi saw itself as a strong contender for the county seat.

It lost out on two fronts. Omro and Eureka built better bridges than Delhi could pay for, and then the railroad reached Omro. Trade went with them, and so did the people. The post office closed in 1893, and Wikipedia says the town was slowly abandoned and fell apart. By 1890 the census listed the place as Island Park. By 1961 the USGS map showed a few houses on the river under that name, and today it is a quiet neighborhood. In July 2026 Butch Koch, who grew up nearby, and the county historical society put up a marker so that people could find Delhi again.

Timeline

From trading post to Island Park

  1. Native people use the riverbank as a gathering place and burial ground and build effigy mounds, by the Winnebago County Historical Society's account. Later settlers turn up pottery, beads, guns and copper when they plow.
  2. Luke La Borde, a French Canadian trader, founds the settlement, by the historical society's 2026 account.
  3. La Borde patents 145 acres, the date Wikipedia gives.
  4. The townsite is surveyed. Lots are 66 by 132 feet, and the main street, Broadway, is 82½ feet wide.
  5. A post office opens.
  6. In its trading years, which Wikipedia doesn't date, Delhi trades with the Native people and the settlers of Eureka and Omro. It has three stores, two grain mills, three hop mills and a hop press, a sawmill, a 22-room hotel, a school and a livery. Steamboats call at its dock and a stage from Oshkosh stops daily. Hops grown and pressed here go to Oshkosh and Milwaukee.
  7. A county plat book still lists a dozen Delhi streets, among them Water, Union, Washington and Main.
  8. The census lists the place as Island Park.
  9. The post office closes. Trade has moved to Omro and Eureka, which built better bridges, and the railroad has come to Omro.
  10. The USGS Eureka sheet labels a small cluster of houses on the river Island Park.
  11. The Winnebago County Historical Society dedicates a historical marker for Delhi off County Road E, on the 177th anniversary of the survey.

What's left

A street name and a marker

Very little of Delhi can be pinned down today. Wikipedia says one run-down house from the town's time still stands and that Luke La Borde and his wife Louisa are buried on the property, but it gives no source date and doesn't say where. We haven't been able to check either. What can be checked is on the map. Today's USGS topo shows a Broadway Road south of the river, the name of Delhi's main street in 1849, and a Delhi Road runs through the neighborhood on OpenStreetMap.

The 1961 Poy Sippi sheet below shows Island Park as a few buildings on the south bank, with Eureka about two miles upstream to the southwest and Omro downstream to the northeast. It labels the stream just east of the townsite Rush Creek; the current map calls it Waukau Creek. The 1961 Eureka sheet adds detail: a short loop of road onto the river bank, a grid of lanes to the south, and County E bending past.

The new marker is the one thing on the ground made for visitors. FOX11 put it off County Road E near the river. Koch told the station that earlier signs made by the Koch brothers were taken down by the county, put back up and then went missing, and that it took more than 70 years to get a proper dedication.

  • Historical marker, dedicated July 17, 2026 (exact spot not confirmed)
  • Broadway Road and Delhi Road, street names on the townsite
  • One house of the period (Wikipedia, undated; not verified)
  • La Borde graves (Wikipedia, undated; not verified)
USGS topographic map of Island Park on the south bank of the Fox River, with Broadway Road, Ferry Lane and Waukau Creek
USGS The National Map, topo. Island Park sits on the south bank at center, Broadway Road runs east below it, and Waukau Creek meets the river at right.
Aerial view of houses among trees along a river bank, with lanes running south to a road and farm fields to the west
Aerial imagery, same area. The houses of Island Park line the lanes south of the river, with fields to the west and County E along the bottom.

Historic maps

Delhi on USGS maps, 1961–1961

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Delhi, 1961
Poy Sippi sheet, 1961, 1:62,500 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Omro is the nearest city, about 9 minutes away on WI 116 and County E. From Oshkosh the route runs west on WI 44 and WI 91, then north on County EE. Both end on Island Avenue in the neighborhood that stands on the townsite. It is private, so stay on the road.

USGS topographic map between Omro and the Delhi townsite at Island Park with the routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From downtown Omro4.2 miabout 9 min
  1. From East Main Street (WI 21), turn left onto Jefferson Avenue (WI 116).0.5 mi
  2. Follow WI 116 south as Waukau Road, then bear right twice onto 4th Street Road (County E).3.5 mi
  3. Turn right onto Island Avenue, into Island Park.0.26 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • The routes are computed from OpenStreetMap and haven't been driven by us. We have no dated source on road surfaces.
  • Island Park is a neighborhood of private homes. Look from the road, and don't walk into yards looking for the old house or the graves.
  • We don't know exactly where the 2026 marker stands. FOX11 placed it off County Road E near the Fox River.

Photos

Have photos of Delhi?

We haven’t added photographs of Delhi yet. If you’ve visited, share your photos and a field report below.

Visitor reports

Been to Delhi?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Delhi

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Wisconsin index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Wikipedia, "Delhi, Wisconsin", revision of September 11, 2026: the town of Rushford, County E, the Fox River and Waukau Creek, La Borde's Landing, Island Park in 1890, the post office from 1850 to 1893, the 1848 patent, the 1849 survey, lots and streets, the 1889 plat book, burials, the stores, mills, hotel, dock, stage and hops, the county-seat hopes, the decline, the surviving house and the La Borde graves. Its title coordinate, the same as Eureka's, is not used.
  2. FOX11 (WLUK), "Historic Delhi site gains new marker to honor Native American gathering grounds", Tony Langfellow, July 17, 2026: the marker, its place off County Road E near the Fox River, effigy mounds, grain, cider, cheese and hops, La Borde in 1846, the survey of July 17, 1849, Julie Johnson of the Winnebago County Historical Society, and Butch Koch.
  3. Wikidata, Island Park (Q14714479): GNIS ID 1567042 and coordinates 44.0228, -88.8022, matching Wikipedia's infobox for Delhi.
  4. OpenStreetMap, October 2026: Island Park as a hamlet in the town of Rushford, Island Avenue and Delhi Road; and Eureka at 44.0044, -88.8418.
  5. Maps: USGS Eureka 1:24,000 and Poy Sippi 1:62,500 sheets of 1961, and the current USGS topo with Broadway Road and Waukau Creek. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Not field-checked.

Photo and map credits

Record5 of 10
  • Townsite location
  • Founding and survey dates
  • Post office dates
  • Marker dedication, Jul 2026
  • Historic maps, 1961
  • Marker's exact spot
  • Surviving house
  • La Borde graves
  • Photos
  • Pre-1900 map of the town
Missing items are what we'll ask readers and local sources to fill.