Brodhead dates to 1856, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #60 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brodhead’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brodhead is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #60 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brodhead’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 Brodhead’s 116 sits above most of its state (95% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±7.8 points). Two sources give 1856.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Brodhead’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Brodhead, building by building, 1887–1915
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.
1887Sheet 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.
Just south of town is a historic marker for the Half-Way Tree, a bur oak supposedly identified by Native Americans as the halfway point on a foot trail between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Present day experts say the tree is off by about six miles but there is also a disagreement about the methods of measurement. The half-way tree still stands protected and still marks the half-way point.
The railroad track that runs east and west through town features a small museum with a train and army tank on display, adjacent to the park and bandstand pavilion. The museum curator said that the railroad was being wooed by two different towns and decided to split the difference and created Brodhead in the spring of 1856.
Passages that mention Brodhead, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Green County, Wisconsin1884 · page 821Read the page →
Read the text
Francis Woodling, of Brodhead, settled in the town of Jefferson, Green county, in the spring of 1846, where he entered eighty acres of land, also forty acres in the town of Spring Grove. He lived in the town of Jefferson about twelve years, when he sold his farm and removed to the town of Decatur, and settled on a farm, where he lived till September, 1865, when he
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Green County, Wisconsin1884 · page 823Read the page →
Read the text
he came to Green county and settled in the town of Decatur on a partially improved farm, where he lived until he came to the village of Brodhead in 1872. He still owns a part of that farm. Mr. Douglas has good business qualifications and has had good success, being now numbered among the wealthy and substantial citizens of Brodhead. His parents, James and
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
Brodhead, 1856 to 1968
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.
In 1856, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Brodhead’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1870 counted 1,548 people here.
How does Brodhead rank for history?
Brodhead is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Brodhead?
Two places: the Francis West Smith House (listed 1979) and the Exchange Square Historic District (1984).
How old are the homes in Brodhead?
40% of Brodhead’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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.
1968
1968
1968
