Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1990.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ludington is more historic than 47% 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 Ludington’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 Ludington’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ludington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ludington is a town in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,067 at the 2020 census.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,063 in 2010, 1,067 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Ludington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
About 1885 the Augusta Creamery established a skimming station in the town of Ludington. This branch later grew and developed into a creamery. It was sold out to Ludtke Bros., of Ludington, who operated it until about three years ago, when it burned down. The farmers then organized a co-operative creamery, which is now in active operation. In about the year 1886 there was a company organized in the city of Eau Claire to biiild and operate a creamery. This was built on Water street, but
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
feated by a vote of 66 to 16. This was about the voting strength of the town at that time. In 1877 the towns of Ludington and Fairchild were organized and set off from Bridge Creek. The village of Augusta was organized and set off in 1883. This left Bridge Creek with less than three townships.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings 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 Ludington. 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 Ludington.
Between 906 and 1,067 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ludington’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Ludington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Another post office, Luddington, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Ludington is more historic than 47% 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.
20% of Ludington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 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 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.
