More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #237 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Cottage Grove was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Cottage Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cottage Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cottage Grove is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #237 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cottage Grove’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 Cottage Grove’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 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 Cottage Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cottage Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Sun Prairie 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 Cottage Grove.
The story so far
Cottage Grove, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cottage Grove yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cottage Grove is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,303 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Madison, it shares a school district with Monona. The village is located partially within the survey township of Cottage Grove. The village was named from a settler's cottage in a grove near the village site.
Its first post office opened in 1841. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,192 to 7,303 (+18%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Cottage Grove in 1880
Passages that mention Cottage Grove, 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 857Read the page →
Read the text
When, by the act of the Territorial Legislature, approved February 2, 1848, the town of Madison was created, consisting of twenty-four townships, the one now forming Cottage Grove was among the number. By an act approved February 11, 1847, Townships 7 north, in Ranges 11 and 12 east, were formed into a separate town, by the name of Cottage Grove, from a burroak grove, in which a public house was built, and where a post office was kept. The first election was held at the house of Amos Beecher, on the first Tuesday in April, 1847. with the following result: Supervisors, Henry L. Bush, Chairman, A. E. Adsit, J. W. Butts; Clerk, Frederick A. Mitchell ; Assessors, John Sunderman, Lucius Loss, M. W. Adsit ; Justices of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
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 887Read the page →
Read the text
The Yahara is the principal stream. It flows through the northeast part of the town, connecting Lake Kegonsa and Lake Waubesa. The stream widens on Section 10, forming Mud Lake. Door Creek rises in the town of Cottage Grove and flows through the northeast part of Dunn, emptj'ing into Lake Kegonsa. There are four more small streams, two of which rise in the town of Fitchburg and flow easterly, emptying into Lake Waubesa. The other two rise in the northwest part, one flowing northwest and emptying into the Yahara, and the other flowing in the same direction and emptying into Lake Kegonsa.
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.
The Cottage Grove post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cottage Grove rank for history?
Cottage Grove is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #237 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.
How old are the homes in Cottage Grove?
6% of Cottage Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (18), 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.
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