The Lowville post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rocky Run (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,017180 years
How historic is Lowville?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lowville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lowville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lowville is more historic than 70% 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 Lowville’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 Lowville’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 (±9.5 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 Lowville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
When the county was organized in 1846, survey Township 10, Range 10; the south half of Township 1, Range 10; and the east half of Township 10, Range 9, were made into a voting precinct under the name of Lowville, after local pioneer Jacob Low. In January 1849, the county board designated Townships 10 and 11 of Range 10, and the east half of Township 10, Range 9, as a new civil town, given the same name of Lowville, and Low's home was designated as the voting place for the town's first election. At a meeting of the County Board of Supervisors on January 8, 1850, the town of Lowville was reduced to just Township 11, Range 10.
Passages that mention Lowville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Columbia County, Wisconsin1914 · page 428Read the page →
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Town Named Lowville With the organization of the county, in 1846. was created the Town of Lowville. As there was no dispute as to whom was the most prominent citizen within the proposed subdivision of the county, it was named after Jacob Low.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Columbia county, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement ..1880 · page 574Read the page →
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Dunham and 0. H. Sorrenson, Portage veterans, promoted to lieutenancies in Col. Guppey's regiment (the Twenty-third). M. M. Davis appointed Commissioner to superintend the draft in the county, and Robert W. Earle, of Columbus, Examining Surgeon. One, thousand dollars subscribed to the war fund and seventeen men enlisted in the town of Lowville ; town of Scott contributes $1,200; Lodi, §1,500 and fifty-two men; the town of Arlington oilers .flOO and a cow to each recruit. Dr. James Prentice appointed Surgeon of the Twenty-third Regiment.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Columbia County, Wisconsin1914 · page 14Read the page →
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fish and are favorites with summer tourists, like Silver Lake, at Portage, which is also an old-time haunt of the curlers ; Swan Lake, a link in the Fox River, lying in Wyoeena and Pacific townships; Lakes Loomis, Corning and Whiting, Town of Lewiston; Mud Lake, Town of Lowville, the head of Rocky Run, and Crystal Lake, in the Town of West Point, To tell the truth, however, though we would not lie without such little gems of water, they are more ornamental than useful, and up to date have had small effect upon the destiny or progress of Columbia County.
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.
By decade
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The Lowville post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lowville rank for history?
Lowville is more historic than 70% 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 Lowville?
29% of Lowville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
