On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barton is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #246 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barton’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 Barton’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 (±5.8 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 Barton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement of Barton began in 1845, when a land surveyor named Barton Salisbury arrived in the area from Mequon, and identified the rapids on the Milwaukee River as a potential source of hydropower. He built a sawmill, and soon other settlers arrived in the area, which was called Salisbury's Mills at the time. Salisbury went on to found the Village of Newburg before he died in a construction accident in 1849.
In 1848, the state legislature created the Town of Newark from land that had previously been part of the Town of West Bend, and in 1853 the Washington County Board of Supervisors changed the name to the Town of Barton in honor of Barton Salisbury.
Barton is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Barton?
16% of Barton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
