Lake Mills dates to 1836, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #18 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 70 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1844.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lake Mills’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Mills is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #18 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Mills’ 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 Lake Mills’ 113 sits above most of its state (95% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 73 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1836.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Lake Mills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lake Mills occupies the east shore of Rock Lake. The area was first settled by Captain Joseph Keyes. He called it "Lake Mills", after building a saw mill and grist mill using power from nearby Rock Lake.
Lake Mills was chartered in 1836, and the first building was built in 1837. The village of Lake Mills incorporated in 1852 out of the surrounding town of Lake Mills. In 1866 the village changed its name to "Tyranena", but changed it back again to "Lake Mills" the next year. (Tyranena is supposedly an indigenous name meaning "sparkling waters".)
Passages that mention Lake Mills, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing ... biographical sketches ..1879 · page 538Read the page →
Read the text
Capt. Joseph Keyes was the first settler in what is now the village of Lake Mills. 0 ber, 1837, is the date of his coming. He settled and built a shanty on the piece of land i occupied by Mrs. Lewis. After numerous improvements and additions to his rude home, finally (in 1841) attached to it a frame structure, made of plank from his saw-mill, and, fc long time, the Captain's house was regarded by his neighbors as the acme of architect!
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 →
Read the text
fect a law was passed by the territorial legislature in words as follows: An act to divide the town of Aztalan and establish the town of Lake Mills. Be it enacted by the council and the house of representatives of the territory of Wisconsin. Section I. That all of That part of tintown of Aztalan. comprised in townships number seven and eight in range nnmner thirteen in the county of JeirVrson, be, and the same is hereby
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing ... biographical sketches ..1879 · page 546Read the page →
Read the text
The First Birth. — The hero of this most important event is believed to have been i daughter to the wife of George Farmer, who first saw light in the village of Lake Mills, ii the year of grace 1839, though it is conceded that Henry Atwood was the first in the neigh borhood, he having become an inmate of this vale of tears as early as 1840.
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
Lake Mills, 1836 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
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.
1892Sheet 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 viewOld High School, 1914
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Mills’ page.
In 1836, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lake Mills’ post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1870 counted 590 people here.
How does Lake Mills rank for history?
Lake Mills is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Lake Mills?
5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Fargo, L. D., Public Library (listed 1982, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Lake Mills Downtown Commercial Historic District, the Mulberry Street Residential Historic District and the South Main Street Residential Historic District, with 70 contributing buildings. 73 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lake Mills?
25% of Lake Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1976.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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