Middleton’s post office opened in 1846, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #128 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of Middleton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1870.
The Middleton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pheasant Branch (1850) and Middleton Station (1862), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 285 in 18702020 census: 21,827180 years
How historic is Middleton?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Middleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 69% of U.S. towns, #128 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middleton’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 Middleton’s 17.5 sits above most of its state (81% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 39 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Middleton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Passages that mention Middleton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
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 States1880 · page 879Read the page →
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 States1880 · page 899Read the page →
Read the text
The territory now constituting the town of Middleton, Township 7 north, of Range 8 east, had no organization for purposes of town government until the 1st Tuesday in April, 1846, when the town of Madison was organized, of which it was a part. By the act of the Territorial Legislature of February 11, 1847, the town of Madison was reduced from twenty-four township? to three— the western one being the present Middleton. It continued a part of Madison until March 11, 1848, when, by an act of that date, it was created a distinct town and named Middleton • 80 called by Harry Barnes after a place in Vermont. The town was organized on the first Tuesday of April following, by the election of Thomas T. Whittlesey, Chairman ; Orson Cook,
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, 1846 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Middleton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Middleton rank for history?
Middleton is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #128 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?
Three places: the Dr. Newman C. Rowley House (listed 1999), the Middleton Depot, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad (1999) and the East End Historic District (2003).
How old are the homes in Middleton?
4% of Middleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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