Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1880.
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lowell is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Lowell’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lowell’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lowell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lowell is a village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Beaver Dam River. The population was 309 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Lowell.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,190 to 1,166 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Lowell, cut from the printed page as they were published.
This is a railroad village, situated in the town of Lowell, about two miles south of the village of that name, and on the line of the La Crosse Division of the C, M. & St. P. Railroad. Samuel Reese was the first settler in the neighborhood, coming to this section in 1845.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A. D. Coapman occupies the responsible positions indicated above, and has held them since 1867, we believe, to the satisfaction of the business and traveling public. As all the freight and express for the village of Lowell is received here, it makes considerable business for the office. IRON RIDGE.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A. D. Coapman occupies the responsible positions indicated above, and has held them since 1867, we believe, to the satisfaction of the business and traveling public. As all the freight and express for the village of Lowell is received here, it makes considerable business for the office. IRON RIDGE.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
about it, pours its volume through a narrow channel leading to Beaver Dam Lake, turning the wheels of numerous mills and factories on its course. Reaching the foot of Beaver Dam Lake, it is again utilized as it passes into and through Beaver Creek, having a fall of about forty-two feet to the village of Lowell. The Crawfish River, flowing through the towns of Elba and Portland,' furnishes a good power for the people of Danville and Portland. As already stated, the utility of Rock River has been seriously impaired by the demolition of the dam at Horicon, whether to the general advantage or disadvantage of all those interested, remains a question to be answered by themselves. But the stream still aflbrds many valuable
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.
Weddings 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 Lowell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lowell.
Between 282 and 400 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lowell’s Wikipedia page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Lowell is more historic than 68% 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.
43% of Lowell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
