Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #69 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 326 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.
The Evansville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Evansville is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #69 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls 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 Evansville’s 566 sits above most of its state (100% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 327 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Evansville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Evansville. 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 Evansville.
From Wikipedia’s history of Evansville.
Evansville was first settled in the 1830s by New Englanders who were attracted to the area by its pristine wooded landscape and the placid Allen Creek. By 1855, the city recorded its first plat and was complete with homes, shops, and churches. Evansville is named for Dr. John M. Evans, a doctor and postmaster during the city's early years.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Evansville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first schoolhouse in the settlement was built in 1841, about a mile and a half west of the present site of Evansville, and was under the control of Miss Mary Jane True. The second was built at or near the present village of Union, and the third was built on the present site of Evansville, and was in charge of Mr. Levi Leonard. The structure was of logs and served the purpose of a church and schoolhouse.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Union, of which the village of Evansville is at the present time the principal market town, was first settled in the fall of 1839, by Charles McMillan, Samuel Lewis, Stephen Jones, Erastus Quivey, John Rhinehart and Rev. Boyd Phelps. In the following spring, there were a large number of persons immigrated to the State and to this town, among the latter the Rev. John Griffith, Hiram Grifiith, John Ai Griffith, Ira Jones, Jacob West, John T. Baker, J.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The city of Evansville first became incorporated as a village by an act of the legislature, approved February 28, 1867, and afterwards, on January 15, 1896, became incorporated as a city under the general statutes of the state.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of Beloit ; the beautiful little city of Evansville was named after John M. Evans, its first physician; Porter township perpetuates the name of Dr. John Porter, he being a large owner of land, part of which he purchased of the famous Daniel "Webster ; Dr. James Heath gave the village of Emerald Grove the name it still bears ; the first water power at Indian Ford was developed by Dr. Guy Stoughton.
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 SurveyBuiltEvansville Standpipe is built
In the archiveDr. John M. EvansBuiltSt. John's Lutheran Church is builtOne decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
1894Sheet 1 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Evansville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 1,068 people in 1880 to 5,703 in 2020, 5 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Evansville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Evansville’s post office has been open since 1851.
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 Evansville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Evansville is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #69 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.
7 listings: 1 building, 4 historic districts with 326 contributing buildings, 1 structure, and 1 object. 327 historic buildings in all.
25% of Evansville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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