More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #325 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Altoona was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Altoona’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Altoona is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #325 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Altoona’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 Altoona’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1881.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Altoona’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement of Altoona began in 1881 when the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway selected the site for a new terminal to replace the overcrowded existing terminal in Eau Claire. The railroad had originally planned to put the new terminal in Fall Creek, but the city of Eau Claire lobbied for a site closer to the existing one, and representatives from Eau Claire and the railroad walked the tracks from Fall Creek to Eau Claire to determine a suitable site. When the location of present-day Altoona - approximately three miles east of the existing Eau Claire terminal - was found to have sufficient flat land and access to water (via the Eau Claire River), the railroad began construction of the new terminal and the community of "East Eau Claire" was platted in October.
Passages that mention Altoona, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present1914 · page 563Read the page →
Read the text
Friedrich Carl Bleichrodt, born at Ziegelroda, Germany, June 12, 1839. Came to Eau Claire county in 1879 and settled on a farm in the town of Washington. Since 1901 he has lived in the city of Altoona. He is a veteran of the German-Austria war of 1866, being in five battles. He married, in 1867, Mrs. Charlotte Fischer, and had three children. Richard, born in 1868, and at present a carpenter and contractor at Altoona. Ida, who mar-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present1914 · page 40Read the page →
Read the text
extreme southeast to the extreme northwest, and Low's creek waters the western portion of it. It has a population, according to the census returns of 1910, of 1,489, exclusive of the city of Altoona, which has 824. This place was originally East Eau Claire, and was surveyed and platted as a village with that name, in September, 1881. It was afterwards changed to Altoona, and incorporated as a city in 1887. It is located on the Eau Claire river and Otter creek and is distant four miles east from the
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
Altoona, 1881 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Altoona. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Chippewa Falls 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 Altoona.
Every building
Altoona, building by building, 1894–1930
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Altoona, census by census
Grew from 805 people in 1890 to 8,293 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Altoona’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
2 famous people were born in Altoona
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1881, according to Wikidata. Altoona’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1890 counted 805 people here.
How does Altoona rank for history?
Altoona is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #325 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Altoona?
6% of Altoona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (9), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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