Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #330 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of DeForest was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1910.
The DeForest post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, DeForest is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #330 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 DeForest’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how DeForest’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of DeForest. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of DeForest.
From Wikipedia’s history of DeForest.
Before European settlement, the area now known as DeForest was home to Native American peoples, notably the Ho-Chunk Nation. The Wisconsin River valley and its tributaries provided vital resources and travel routes for these early inhabitants.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention DeForest, cut from the printed page as they were published.
a Scotchman, was the next settler, erecting his cabin on Section 6, near the present village of Morrison, after whom it was named. Thomas Campbell, likewise a Scotchman, came in about the same time with Mr. Morrison and settled upon Section 17, near the present village of DeForest. Mr. Pellet soon after built a log house on Section 36, and Mr. Leland on Section 30. Charles Lawrence was the next to construct a house in the town of Windsor, coming in some time in 1842. Mr. Lawrence came to Madison in 1838, and was one of the workmen on the old Territorial capitol. In 1842, he took up some government land in Windsor and settled upon it, and he continued to reside upon the farm then selected until his death, which occurred
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereSean Anders is born hereGrew from 431 people in 1910 to 10,811 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on DeForest’s Wikipedia page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The DeForest post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
DeForest is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #330 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.
5% of DeForest’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1993.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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.
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