Hartland’s post office opened in 1847, and 14 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #116 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Hartland was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 14 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 29 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Hartland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hartland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hartland is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #116 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hartland’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 Hartland’s 43.1 sits above most of its state (87% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Hartland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The following places in Hartland are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Waukesha County, Wisconsin: Ralph C. Bailie House, Bank of Hartland, Beaumont Hop House, Burr Oak Tavern, Dansk Evangelical Lutheran Kirke, East Capitol Drive Historic District, First Congregational Church, Hartland Railroad Depot, Harold Hornburg House, Jackson House, Sign of the Willows, Trapp Filling Station, Sarah Belle Van Buren House, Stephen Warren House, and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMILW 86A (F3A) at the County Highway KE crossing about a mile and half east of Hartland, WI in December 1964, 1964
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hartland’s page.
The Hartland post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hartland rank for history?
Hartland is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #116 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 Hartland?
14 listings: 13 buildings and 1 historic district, the East Capitol Drive Historic District, with 29 contributing buildings. 43 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hartland?
4% of Hartland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (9), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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.
2005
