On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blooming Grove is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. 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 Blooming Grove’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 Blooming Grove’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 (±6.4 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 Blooming Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blooming Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Madison 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 Blooming Grove.
The story so far
Blooming Grove, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blooming Grove yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Blooming Grove is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,622 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Hope is located partially within Blooming Grove. Although once much larger, currently the town of Blooming Grove consists of a few scattered neighborhoods and individual properties broken into discontinuous sections by the cities of Madison and Monona. Blooming Grove is set to be dissolved and annexed into the city of Madison by 2027.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,815 to 1,622 (-11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Blooming Grove in 1874
Passages that mention Blooming Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 394Read the page →
Read the text
The Town of Blooming Grove lies in the central part of the county, adjoining Madison on the east, of which it was part, until set off by the County Board in 1850. It is known as township 7, north of range 10, east. A large part of section 8, the north half of section 17, and a part of section 20, are covered by Lake Monona; also a large part of sections 28 and 33 by Lake Waubesa.
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.
Blooming Grove is more historic than 38% 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 Blooming Grove?
15% of Blooming Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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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