Fulton’s post office opened in 1846, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #134 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Fulton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listings are the Fulton Congregational Church and the Eager Free Public Library. Below: maps from 1890 on and old-book passages.
The Fulton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Indian Ford (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,580180 years
How historic is Fulton?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fulton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Fulton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fulton is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #134 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fulton’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 Fulton’s 5.5 sits above most of its state (67% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Fulton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fulton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
The Town of Fulton is located in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,580. The unincorporated communities of Fulton and Indianford are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Newville is also located partially in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,252 to 3,580 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Fulton in 1879
Passages that mention Fulton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 507Read the page →
Read the text
power, and the clean, smooth prairies, with their rich soil, possessed advantages which needed only the stalwart arms and resolute hearts of hardy men to develop into excellent homes. They followed an Indian trail up the river, until they came to the mouth of the Yahara (Catfish), where they made their claim, and became the first settlers of the town of Fulton. In 1837, they plowed the first furrow, broke seven acres of land and planted it with corn and beans. The seed corn cost them $5 a bushel. In the spring of 1838, they built the first log house, and were now ready to offer their hospitalities to all who came. Robert and Daniel Stone came from Parishville, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 323Read the page →
Read the text
At the intersection of Main and State streets, in the village of Fulton, Dr. Lapham found, in 1850, an irregular oval earthwork, consisting of a flat ridge, and resembling the roadway of a modern turnpike. The breadth varied from thirty to forty feet, and the elevation from two to three feet in the middle. The diameters of the oval were 500 and 300 feet. Such a structure might have had its usage in some of the public games or ceremonies of uncivilized life ; but it would be idle, of course, to undertake to ascertain its particular purpose.
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 Fulton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fulton rank for history?
Fulton is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #134 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 Fulton?
Two places: the Fulton Congregational Church (listed 1976) and the Eager Free Public Library (1977).
How old are the homes in Fulton?
8% of Fulton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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