The story
Read it all →How Caledonia came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Caledonia.
The town was named by Scottish settlers after the Latin name for Scotland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Caledonia
13% of Caledonia’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1990.
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
About Caledonia’s history
How historic is Caledonia?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Caledonia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caledonia is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caledonia’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±4.3) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 21.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder
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 Caledonia’s 21.3 sits above most of its state (83% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±4.3 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 Caledonia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Caledonia’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caledonia’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Caledonia on the map, 1895 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Caledonia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895Baraboo sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Caledonia.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Caledonia in 1880
Passages that mention Caledonia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement ..1880 · page 639Read the page →
Read the text
In March, 1868, the Legislature passed two bridge bills, the first authorizing the city of Portage and the town of Caledonia to jointly erect a free bridge ; and the second, if they should deem it inadvisable to construct such a bridge, authorizing the city of Portage to build another toll bridge. The latter measure provided for the same rates of toll allowed in the old charter, and authorized the city to assign its charter to an individual, or individuals, should any such wish to make the bridge a private enterprise. In the mean time, the City Council employed an experienced bridge-builder to inspect the old concern, and a report was made to the effect that an expenditureof $2,000 would keep it up for a couple of years longer. Before any definite action
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement ..1880 · page 705Read the page →
Read the text
thy with them and looked on their side of the question. He was a soldier under Col. Dodge in the Sauk war. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence ; loved reading of every kind, especially history and accounts of travel. He held the office of Justice of the Peace in the town of Caledonia at one time. He died on the 2d day of March, 1879, at his residence in the town of Caledonia, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Portage. One of the oldest residents of the town of Caledonia was John Pate, who died on the 19th of December, 1879. He was one of those pioneers who buffeted the hardships of a new country in the day when a man had to sacrifice all the comforts of civilization in order to start
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
Caledonia, 1859 to 1901
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the National Register
1 historic place in Caledonia
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Durward's Glen
Districts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Caledonia, census by census
Between 1,031 and 1,495 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Caledonia’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Alloa, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Durwards Glen
Gone or out of use
Alloa SchoolschoolDog Hollow SchoolschoolDurwards Glen SchoolschoolFox Glen SchoolschoolHillside SchoolschoolIndian Farm SchoolschoolWestport Landing Stripairport
11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Caledonia
Caledonia German MethodistEvangelicalGinterIndian FarmMcDonaldMethodistRubin - GuentherSaint CamillusSaint Paul Evangelical LutheranShanksWelsh Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Caledonia’s history
How does Caledonia rank for history?
Caledonia is more historic than 74% 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.
What is on the National Register in Caledonia?
One place: the Durward's Glen (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Caledonia?
13% of Caledonia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1991.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 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.