More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #223 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Howards Grove was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1970.
From Howards Grove’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Howards Grove began
When was Howards Grove founded?
1849
The Howards Grove post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Howard Grove (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 998 in 19702020 census: 3,237177 years
How historic is Howards Grove?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Howards Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Howards Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Howards Grove is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #223 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Howards Grove’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 Howards Grove’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Howards Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The village was named after H. B. Howard, a hotelier and postmaster. Howards Grove began as two unincorporated communities: Millersville and Howards Grove. They united as one village in 1967, forming the longest municipality name in the state (Howards Grove–Millersville), before it was shortened to Howards Grove by referendum in 1972. In the year 1846, the first immigrants started to make an appearance and settled in the surrounding wilderness which was named the town of Herman. Sheboygan, which was ten miles from where they had settled, was their main source of supplies. The main occupation of this area since the 1840s has been farming. The farming community had always had a focus on growing oats and wheat but as early as November 29, 1899, the Sheboygan Telegram noted that there had been a change in operation. The focus was changed to dairy farming. Today, farming still rules the comm…
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Howards Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Howards Grove sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Howards Grove.
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 viewFRONT SIDE, LOOKING NORTH - Ferdinand Schulz Blacksmith and Wheelwright Shop, Animal Building, W3222 Highway 32, north …, 1933
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Howards Grove’s page.
The Howards Grove post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Howards Grove rank for history?
Howards Grove is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #223 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.
How old are the homes in Howards Grove?
8% of Howards Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (12), 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) 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.
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