Benton was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. senator from Missouri. Up until that point, the community was known as Swindler's Ridge.
The pioneer priest Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the village's Catholic parish, Saint Patrick's Church. Father Mazzuchelli is buried in Saint Patrick's cemetery. He was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1993, and the case for his Sainthood is still pending.
Passages that mention Benton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1881 · page 465Read the page →
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During this year, the improvements were comparatively numerous and of a very substantial character. These included the completion of the first mill built in the county, to which reference has already been made. It was that of the Murphys in town of Benton, located in what is known as Mill Seat Bend, on the Fever River, a short distance from the present village of Benton, and its site has been occupied constantly for mill purposes from that day to this. The building was of frame, three stories high, supplied with two run of stone, and aff"orded accommodations to settlers not only in La Fayette County, but from a distance — residents of Rockford, Dubuque, Wisconsin River and of other places, coming hither to obtain supplies of meal and flour
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History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1881 · page 557Read the page →
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The village of Benton is centrally located in the town of that name, being the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 9, and is contained on the original area of about 80 acres. It was laid out March 18, 1844, on land owned by Dennis Murphy, the survey being made by John Burrell, assisted by Matt Murphy, and portioned into eight blocks of four lots each, divided by Main, Bean, Catharine and Jackson streets. The only house on the village site was a saloon and grocery store on Bean street, carried on by Henry Myers and E. B. Parish. In 1845, Joseph Arnold erected a residence on Main street, which has since been re-constructed and repaired, and is now occupied by M. Murphy. The same year Charles Ilewett put up a
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Benton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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