Boscobel’s post office opened in 1856, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #138 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Boscobel High School, the Central House Hotel and the Boscobel Grand Army of the Republic Hall. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Boscobel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Boscobel’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boscobel is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #138 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boscobel’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 Boscobel’s 9.3 sits above most of its state (76% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Boscobel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1884Sheet 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.
The story so far
Boscobel, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Boscobel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Boscobel ( BOSS-koh-bel) is a city in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2020 census. Approximately 0.6 mi. (1 km) to the north of the city, across a riparian swamp, is the Wisconsin River. U.S. Route 61 crosses the Wisconsin River at Boscobel. To the south, the city is bordered by the Town of Boscobel. Boscobel was the site of a stop along the now defunct Milwaukee Road, and it is still served by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. It is also the site of the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (WSPF), a Wisconsin Department of Corrections prison for men. Businesses include the historic Central House Hotel, the birthplace of Gideons International.
Its first post office opened in 1856. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,231 in 2010, 3,286 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Boscobel, 1881–1900
Passages that mention Boscobel, cut from the printed page as they were published.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 937Read the page →
Read the text
WILLIAM C. SNOW, manager Fair Flouring Mills, Sec. 2 ; P. 0. Boscobel ; born in the town of Wingville, Grant Co., Wis.; lived there till 1867, then moved to the town of Boscobel, and attended school, receiving a good business education ; then moved to the town of Marion and engaged in the milling business, under his father's instruction, for seven years. For the past year, he has been renting the mill of his father, and managing the business himself. The mill was built in 1863, has one run
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 249Read the page →
Read the text
“This mound, which I opened in the fall of 1858, was located on the very topmost point of the conical, and for the most part, untirabered, blufflying about one mile east of the central part of the present city of Boscobel, and mostly within the northeast comer of Section 35 of the Town of Boscobel. The mound was about four feet in diameter, circular, and elevated about twenty inches above the stony surface of the crest. Upon excavation, it was found to have been built from the ground up, quite unlike any other aboriginal mound of Wisconsin,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Grant County Wisconsin1900 · page 769Read the page →
Read the text
This town was organized in 1854, including the present town of Boscobel. Previous to this date it had been included in Fennimore. The first settlers generally settled along Crooked Creek. Among them was William Blanchard, who in 1850 built the “Red Mill” on Section 11, about three miles from Boscobel. Like most of the mills of Grant County, the water supply gave out and steam was substi¬ tuted, and it is now only a feed mill. Another mill was built on Sec¬ tion 2, a mile or so down the Creek, in 1863, and is still run as a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 783Read the page →
Read the text
gard to toll, we copy a section of the law authorizing the city of Boscobel to bridge the Wisconsin River : "Section 4. All funds arising from tolls or from the use of said bridge shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the city of Boscobel, at least once in each month, and shall be kept by him separate and apart from all other funds, and shall not be paid out except upon orders drawn upon that specific fund. The funds arising from the toll or the use of such bridge, after paying for the care and maintenance thereof, shall be applied as follows : First, to pay the interest upon said city bonds, and thereafter to redeem said bonds as fast as said funds will allow."
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
Boscobel, 1856 to 1993
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.
The Boscobel post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Boscobel rank for history?
Boscobel is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #138 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.
What is on the National Register in Boscobel?
Three places: the Boscobel High School (listed 1986), the Central House Hotel (1996) and the Boscobel Grand Army of the Republic Hall (2007).
How old are the homes in Boscobel?
21% of Boscobel’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 1964.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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