The Lima post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Utter's Corners (1849), Lima Centre (1855) and Lima Center (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,271177 years
How historic is Lima?
B+
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lima post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lima’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lima is more historic than 74% 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 Lima’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 Lima’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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±17.3 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 Lima’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 Lima. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Koshkonong 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 Lima.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Lima had its own post office from 1849 to 1855. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lima
1849–1855
Utter's Corners
1849–1858
Lima Centre
1855–1889
Lima Center
1889–1963
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lima CenterWright's Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lima
Lima CenterUtters Corners
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Lima, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lima yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
The Town of Lima Center is located in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,271 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Lima Center is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,280 in 2010, 1,271 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lima in 1879
Passages that mention Lima, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 715Read the page →
Read the text
1852, ho was married to Jiiss Sarah M., daughter of Ecv. Henry Anthony, a Baptist clergyman of his neighborhood, and soon afterwaid settled on alarm, to which he devoted his undivided attention for tliree years; in the spring of 1854, he made a prospecting visit to Wisconsin, and purchased a quarier-seciion of land in the town of Lima, Bock Co., and in the autumn of the same year ho removed witli his family to what has since been his home; in 1857, ho was elected Justice of the Peace, and since then he has held variou.s positions — Superinti nlcnt of Schools fer the town of Lima, Cliaiiman of the Board of Snpcrvi- Fois of his town, holding the position in all seven years: he was President of the; Lima JIulual Fire Insurance Company from the time of its organization in 1872 until January 1, 1877 ; in 187G, he was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 515Read the page →
Read the text
The Organization. — Up to February 24, 1845, when it received a separate organization, the town of Lima formed a portion of the town of Milton, and after being so created it received the name of Lima at the request of Mr. Paul Crandall and a few others, being called after some Eastern township. On April 1, 1845, the first town election was held at the schoolhouse in District No. 9. At that election. Prosper Cravath received the choice of the residents for the oflSce of Chairman of Supervisors. The other Supervisors were John Child and Abram Allen.
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
Lima, 1849 to 1891
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Lima post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lima rank for history?
Lima is more historic than 74% 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 Lima?
37% of Lima’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±17.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 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.
