On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson’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 Jefferson’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Jefferson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jefferson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Monroe sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jefferson.
The story so far
Jefferson, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jefferson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
There are a few other places named Jefferson in Wisconsin. Jefferson is a town in Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,170 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Juda is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Twin Grove is also located in the town.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,217 to 1,170 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Jefferson, 1879–1894
Passages that mention Jefferson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing ... biographical sketches ..1879 · page 471Read the page →
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Previous to 1857, the present city of Jefferson was under the same government as the township. In 1857, the village of Jefferson was incorporated and represented in the township Board of Supervisors. This continued until 1878, when an act "to incorporate the citv of Jefferson" was passed by the Legislature of Wisconsin and approved March 19 of that year, since which date the whilom town and village has been considered as a municipal corporation, entitled to certain privileges and immunities thereunto appertaining, in consideration of securing to the citizens life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The city of Jefferson is still connected with the town or township government for town purposes.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A reminiscent history of the village and town of Lake Mills, Jefferson County1894Read the page →
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The first settlers in Jefferson county were American-born. The great tide of foreign emigration, which since that time has Bet in so strongly westward, had not then begun, and it was a number of years after the first settlers came to Jefferson county before the foregn-born sought homes here. The first settlement was of Germans near Jefferson in '42, and the first German girl I ever saw was engaged in my father's family as a domestic.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing ... biographical sketches ..1879 · page 45Read the page →
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river canal company. This company was given authority to apply to congress for an appropriation in money or lands to aid in the construction of the work, which was to have its eastern outlet in the Milwaukee river, and to unite at its western terminus with Rock river, near the present village of Jefferson, in Jefferson county. The result was that a grant of land of oddnumbered sections in a strip of territory five miles on each side of the line of the proposed canal was secured, and in July, 1839, over forty thousand acres were sold at the minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents per acre. However, owing mainly to the fact that purchasers were compelled to pay double the government price for their lands — owing also to the circumstance
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.
Timeline
Jefferson, 1848 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Jefferson is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. 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 Jefferson?
31% of Jefferson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (1), 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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