Cedarburg dates to 1843, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #58 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 209 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cedarburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedarburg is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #58 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedarburg’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 Cedarburg’s 171 sits above most of its state (97% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 215 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% 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 (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1843.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cedarburg’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.
On the map
Cedarburg on the map, 1904 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedarburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Port Washington 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 Cedarburg.
Every building
Cedarburg, building by building, 1893–1910
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.
The earliest evidence of humans in the Cedarburg area is the Hilgen Spring Mound Site, located in the eastern part of the city of Cedarburg, near Cedar Creek. The site consists of three conical burial mounds constructed by early Woodland period Mound Builders. In 1968, archaeologists from the Milwaukee Public Museum found human burials and artifacts, including stone altars, arrowheads, and pottery shards, during an excavation of one of the mounds. Radiocarbon samples from the excavation date the mounds' construction to approximately 480 BCE, making it one of the oldest mound groups in the state.
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.
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 1843, according to Wikidata. Cedarburg’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1880 counted 945 people here.
How does Cedarburg rank for history?
Cedarburg is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Cedarburg?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Cedarburg Mill (listed 1974, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Washington Avenue Historic District and the Columbia Historic District, with 209 contributing buildings. 215 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cedarburg?
11% of Cedarburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1933
1933
1934
1934
1977
1977
2001