History · Middleton

1 of Middleton’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #298 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Its Register listing is the First Lutheran Church. Most of Middleton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1870.

1on the National Register

2%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

6famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Middleton’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

About Middleton’s history

How historic is Middleton?

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Middleton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middleton is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #298 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middleton’s overall grade.

Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.9% of homes (±1.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National Register1 listing, 1.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%

NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 18%

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 Middleton’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

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 →

What stands out about Middleton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Middleton, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19074 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1983. Watch Middleton change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middleton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middleton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewBoy Scouts distribute d-CON: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

West Middleton

1858–1894

Barwig

1894–1900

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

West Middleton

Gone or out of use

Northwestern Stone QuarrymineWest Middleton Schoolschool

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middleton

Evergreen HillFirst LutheranSaint John'sWest Middleton

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Middleton on the map, 1907 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Middleton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1907Cross Plains 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 Middleton.

The story

How Middleton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middleton.

Read it all →

The first settlers were mostly of English descent, and they came to Middleton in the 1840s. It was called Peatville for the large quantities of peat extracted from its soil. The town was renamed Middleton when it was separated from the town of Madison in 1848. Many German settlers arrived to Middleton in the 1850s, and after the year 1880, the population was largely of German descent. The first Lutheran Church was founded in the area in 1852.

Middleton incorporated as a village in 1905 and it became a city in 1963. At the suggestion of its first postmaster, Harry Barnes, it was named after a community in Vermont.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Middleton in 1880

Passages that mention Middleton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

tion 16, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 299 feet ; west line Section 20, Township 8, Range 9 east (Westport), 326 feet ; west line northeast quarter Section 19, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 332 feet ; west line Section 18, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 340 feet ; north line Sectio… — **History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States**1880 · page 313Read the page →
Read the text
tion 16, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 299 feet ; west line Section 20, Township 8, Range 9 east (Westport), 326 feet ; west line northeast quarter Section 19, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 332 feet ; west line Section 18, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 340 feet ; north line Section 13, Township 7, Range 9 east (Madison), 345 feet ; Middleton depot, 34/ feet; west line Section 11, Township 7, Range 8 east (Middleton), 353 feet; west line southeast quarter Section 10, Township 7, Range 8 east (Middleton), 365 feet ; west line Section 10, Township 7, Range 8 east (Middleton), 360 feet ; west line Section 9, Township 7, Range 8 east (Middleton), 352 feet ; west line Section 8, Township 7, Range 8 east (Middleton),
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

Middleton, 1858 to 1988

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1858Post officeThe West Middleton post office opens
1863Born hereRose Schuster Taylor is born here
1866BuiltFirst Lutheran Church is built
1866Born herePauline Kruger Hamilton is born here
1894Post officeThe West Middleton post office closes
1894Post officeThe Barwig post office opens
20th century
1900Post officeThe Barwig post office closes
1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1950In the archiveBoy Scouts distribute d-CON
1985Born hereAaron Hohlbein is born here
1988Born hereNick Toon is born here

By decade

Middleton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s1 item

c. 1950Boy Scouts distribute d-CON

1960s–1990snothing yet

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.

Add from your album

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 viewBoy Scouts distribute d-CON, c. 1950

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Middleton’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Middleton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1988

First Lutheran Church

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

First Lutheran ChurchGreek Revival · Built 1866

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Middleton, census by census

Grew from 285 people in 1870 to 21,827 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Middleton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Middleton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Pauline Kruger HamiltonAmerican photographer · b. 1866

Aaron HohlbeinAmerican soccer player · b. 1985

Nick ToonAmerican football player · b. 1988

Rose Schuster TaylorAmerican writer and naturalist · b. 1863

Jon ErpenbachAmerican politician · b. 1961

Ryan GroyAmerican football player · b. 1990

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Madison143 historic placesA Cross PlainsIts storyC⁻Springfield1 historic placeA⁻VeronaIts storyD

Questions about Middleton’s history

How does Middleton rank for history?

Middleton is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #298 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 Middleton?

One place: the First Lutheran Church (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Middleton?

2% of Middleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1998.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (28), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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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