Founding year: the first Cambridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cambridge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge’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 Cambridge’s 6.2 sits above most of its state (68% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.6 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 Cambridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement of Cambridge dates back to October 15, 1847, when the farmer Joseph Keyes filed plans with the Register of Deeds of Dane County. The first structure in the area was a dam on the northern part of Koshkonong Creek. By the late 1880s, Cambridge had grown into a community of about 700 people with shops, hotels, and a post office. Future inventor Ole Evinrude lived there. In 1890 a devastating fire broke out, destroying most of the businesses and parts of Main Street.
The town was rebuilt by 1910, following the fire, and the invention of the automobile ignited tourism. Nearby Lake Ripley became a destination for many Chicago travelers.
Passages that mention Cambridge, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States1880 · page 855Read the page →
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proportion of the land is that of an undulating prairie, broken here and there by beautiful oak openings and marsh, and possessing an abundance of water, affording every facility for manufacturing enterpj'ise. The streams of this town are the Koshkonong River, which enters its limits at the village of Cambridge, on Section 12, passes through the village of Clinton, on Sections 13, 24, 23, and thence through Sections 26, 25 and 36, into the town of Albion ; the Koshkonong Creek, in the southern part, which has its rise in small streams in the center of the town; and Mud Creek, which runs north into the town of Deerfield. Koshkonong prairie extends through the town from southwest to northeast and into the town of Deerfield. The north-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The narrative of the captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. First printed in 1682 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, & London, England. Now reprinted in facsimile1903Read the page →
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lethargic colonial authorities failed to recognize the importance of this warning. But Job Kattenanit, of Natick, another daring fcout, dragged himfelf to Major Daniel Gookin's door in Cambridge a little before midnight on February ninth, exhaufled with his eighty-mile journey through the wildernefs upon fnow-fhoes from Menamefet, bringing complete confirmation of Quanapaug's report.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Madison, Dane County and surrounding towns1877 · page 354Read the page →
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class facilities for milling purposes, there being two grist mills in the town, one at Cambridge and another at Clinton, the latter having one of the finest water powers in this part of the state, and doing a large custom and flonring biiainess.
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.
By decade
Cambridge, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. 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.
The Cambridge post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cambridge rank for history?
Cambridge is more historic than 77% 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 Cambridge?
One place: the Cambridge Public School and High School (listed 1998).
How old are the homes in Cambridge?
17% of Cambridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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