More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #200 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Center Valley Grade School. Most of Center was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Center is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #200 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Center’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 Center’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 Center’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Town of Center began as the Town of Lansing, organized on September 12, 1849. It included the modern day areas of the towns of Freedom and Center, and "territory lying to the north that was sparsely settled". The town of Freedom was established as a new town split off from the town of Lansing on June 5, 1852. When the split occurred, Freedom took with it the officers of the town of Lansing, as well as the town seat, and many of its residents and public improvements.
Center is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #200 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 Center?
One place: the Center Valley Grade School (listed 2011).
How old are the homes in Center?
10% of Center’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 1995.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
