On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arcadia is more historic than 48% 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 Arcadia’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 Arcadia’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Arcadia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Home
1865–1885
Williamsburgh
1866–1876
Tamarack
1871–1906
Howe
1882–1885
Cortland
1888–1895
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CortlandNorth CreekTamarackWilliamsburg
Gone or out of use
American Valley SchoolschoolArcadia Landing StripairportArcadia Ridge SchoolschoolCortland SchoolschoolHolcomb SchoolschoolKolstad SchoolschoolKorpal Valley SchoolschoolLatch Valley SchoolschoolLewis Valley SchoolschoolMeyers SchoolschoolNorth Creek SchoolschoolNorway Valley SchoolschoolOak Ridge SchoolschoolOakdale SchoolschoolPenny SchoolschoolRainey Valley SchoolschoolSunny Slope SchoolschoolWilliamsburg Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arcadia
ArcadiaCalvaryCortlandSaint StanislausTamarack
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Arcadia was founded in 1855 on a hill overlooking the Trempealeau River Valley. However, when the Green Bay and Western Railroad built a line in the river valley, the city developed along the line. In 1858, David Massuere began work on a flour mill that was then finished in 1860. In 1900, the city built a Grist Mill For Michael Stelmach and John Kamla. In 1903 Korpal Valley School was moved to the Mill. Around the early 2010s the school building collapsed and was removed, yet the Mill still stands.
farm by additional land purchases until it now contains 440 acres, having two sets of commodious buildings. In 1905 Mr. Schmidt purchased the Henry Dewey farm of 63 acres, situated one mile east of the village of Arcadia, the location being known as East Arcadia. The first store in Arcadia was built on this place in 1857, but after the Green Bay Railroad was constructed in 1873 the population moved into the valley, thus changing the location of the village. Mr. Schmidt removed to the Dewey farm in the spring of 1906, preferring this place for a residence in order that his
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 173Read the page →
Read the text
Meyers Valley is wholly in the town of Arcadia, and lies about one and a half miles south of the village of Arcadia. It is really a series of short pocket valleys with a rich black loam soil, and long has been one of the choice farm localities in the town, and perhaps in the county. Grain growing was long the chief industry, but stock raising, grass and corn has all along had much attention, and in recent years dairying has flourished among the people of the valley. It is a natural locality for diversified or intensive farming, and its people were really always well-to-do when 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
Arcadia, 1865 to 1995
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Arcadia is more historic than 48% 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 Arcadia?
21% of Arcadia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), 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 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.
1910
1995
