Most of Dell Prairie was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1870.
The Dell Prairie post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Plainville (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 534 in 18702020 census: 1,631174 years
How historic is Dell Prairie?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dell Prairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Dell Prairie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dell Prairie is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dell Prairie’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 Dell Prairie’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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Dell Prairie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dell Prairie’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Dell Prairie on the map, 1902 to 1975
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dell Prairie. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Briggsville 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 Dell Prairie.
The story so far
Dell Prairie, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dell Prairie yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dell Prairie is a town in Adams County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,631 at the 2020 census, up from 1,590 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Plainville is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,590 to 1,631 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Dell Prairie, 1852 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Dell Prairie post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dell Prairie rank for history?
Dell Prairie is more historic than 25% 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.
How old are the homes in Dell Prairie?
7% of Dell Prairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 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.
