Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Dodgeville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AHistory
History · Dodgeville

Dodgeville dates to 1827, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #38 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 26 buildings. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1860.

1827founded
5on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dodgeville began

When was Dodgeville founded?

1827

Dodgeville dates its founding to 1827 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,222 in 18602020 census: 4,984199 years

How historic is Dodgeville?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dodgeville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dodgeville is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Dodgeville’s overall grade.
Founding era1827, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194020.8% of homes (±5.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register5 listings, 30 historic buildings, 59.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 90%

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 Dodgeville’s 59.5 sits above most of its state (90% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1827.

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 Dodgeville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dodgeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Iowa Street Historic District takes in 26 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1915, drew every building in Dodgeville.Deep rootsEstablished in 1827: 199 years of Dodgeville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dodgeville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dodgeville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

5 listings protect 30 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
30
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Iowa County Courthouse
Iowa County Courthouse, built 1859Old Rock School, built 1853David J. and Maggie Jones HouseIowa Street Historic DistrictDodge Mining Camp Cabin, built 1827
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Cornish Masonry Work1
Late Victorian: Italianate1
Italianate1
Mid-Nineteenth Century1
Iowa County CourthouseGreek Revival · Built 1859
Old Rock SchoolCornish Masonry Work · Built 1853
David J. and Maggie Jones HouseLate Victorian: Italianate
Iowa Street Historic DistrictItalianate
Dodge Mining Camp CabinMid-Nineteenth Century · Built 1827

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Dodgeville, building by building, 1894–1915

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.

Dodgeville fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Dodgeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dodgeville.

Read it all →

In 1827, Henry Dodge, his family, and about 40 miners began what would become the city of Dodgeville. Dodge made a pact with the local Winnebago Indian leaders so he could build a cabin and smelter. The original community had three settlements: "Dodgeville", "Dirty Hollow" and "Minersville". A fourth settlement, Moon Spring, near the intersection of the present Highway 18 bypass and Bennett Road flourished until the cholera epidemic in the early 1850s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dodgeville, 1827 to 1920

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827
    FoundingDodgeville is established
  3. 1827BuiltDodge Mining Camp Cabin is built
  4. 1831Post officeThe Dodgeville post office opens
  5. 1853BuiltOld Rock School is built
  6. 1859BuiltIowa County Courthouse is built
  7. 1880Born hereArchie Hahn is born here
  8. 1898Born hereGlenn A. Abbey is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1917Born hereDon Perkins is born here
  12. 1920Born hereForrest Perkins is born here
By decade

Dodgeville, decade by decade

Today15 recent
Edmund Tower2009Edmund TowerDodgevilleWisconsin1WIS232009DodgevilleWisconsin1WIS23Dodgeville Tower2009Dodgeville TowerDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleDodgeville2009DodgevilleBloomfield Manor Tower2007Bloomfield Manor TowerWIMap-doton-Dodgeville2004WIMap-doton-Dodgeville
On the map

Dodgeville on the map, 1902 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dodgeville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dodgeville on the 1902 USGS mapDodgeville on the 1984 USGS map1902Mineral Point sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dodgeville.

People over time

Dodgeville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5001900195020004,984

Grew from 1,222 people in 1860 to 4,984 in 2020, 4 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dodgeville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Dodgeville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Archie HahnGerman-American athlete · b. 1880
D
Don PerkinsAmerican football player · b. 1917
G
Glenn A. AbbeyUnited States diplomat · b. 1898
F
Forrest PerkinsAmerican football and baseball player, coach, a… · b. 1920
Platt WhitmanAmerican politician · b. 1871
J
John William RoweChief Executive Officer of Exelon Corporation o… · b. 1945

Questions about Dodgeville’s history

What year was Dodgeville founded?

In 1827, according to Wikidata. Dodgeville’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1860 counted 1,222 people here.

How does Dodgeville rank for history?

Dodgeville is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Dodgeville?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Iowa County Courthouse (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Iowa Street Historic District, with 26 contributing buildings. 30 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Dodgeville?

21% of Dodgeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (15), 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.