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CHistory
History · Montello

Half of Montello’s homes were built after 1978

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Montello was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Montello’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Montello’s history

How historic is Montello?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Montello’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montello is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montello’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±4.0) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder

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 Montello’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).

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 Montello’s past

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

A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1909, drew every building in Montello.
★ What stands out · By decade

Montello, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s15 items
DETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH SIDE - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street1933DETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH SIDE - Montello…GENERAL SETTING LOOKING EAST - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933GENERAL SETTING LOOKING EAST - Smart Block, 6 Main St…GENERAL SETTING LOOKING NORTHEAST - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street1933GENERAL SETTING LOOKING NORTHEAST - Montello Mercanti…GENERAL SETTING LOOKING NORTHEAST - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933GENERAL SETTING LOOKING NORTHEAST - Smart Block, 6 Ma…GENERAL SETTING LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street1933GENERAL SETTING LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Montello Mercanti…GENERAL SETTING LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933GENERAL SETTING LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Smart Block, 6 Ma…INTERIOR DETAIL OF PRESSED-METAL CEILING, FIRST FLOOR - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933INTERIOR DETAIL OF PRESSED-METAL CEILING, FIRST FLOOR…INTERIOR DETAIL OF WINDOW, WEST FRONT, SECOND FLOOR - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933INTERIOR DETAIL OF WINDOW, WEST FRONT, SECOND FLOOR -…INTERIOR VIEW OF ATTIC - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933INTERIOR VIEW OF ATTIC - Smart Block, 6 Main StreetVIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTH - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933VIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTH - Smart Block, 6 Ma…VIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933VIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Smart Block, …VIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933VIEW OF NORTH SIDE, LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Smart Block, …VIEW OF REAR - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933VIEW OF REAR - Smart Block, 6 Main StreetVIEW OF REAR - Smart Block, 6 Main Street1933VIEW OF REAR - Smart Block, 6 Main StreetVIEW OF REAR ADDITION, LOOKING WEST - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street1933VIEW OF REAR ADDITION, LOOKING WEST - Montello Mercan…
1940s–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
Every building

Montello, building by building, 1894–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Montello fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Montello, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Montello yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Montello is a city in and the county seat of Marquette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,448 at the 2020 census. The Fox River flows through the city. Montello is home to the largest tree in Wisconsin. A notable attraction in the city is the former granite quarry, which has been transformed into a park with several waterfalls. The Montello post office was established in 1850, and still operates today with the zip code 53949.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,033 to 1,132 (+10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Montello, 1915 to 1984

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1915Post officeThe Glenoak post office opens
  3. 1933In the archiveDETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH SIDE - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street
  4. 1952Post officeThe Glenoak post office closes
  5. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Montello on the map, 1984 to 1990

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

Montello on the 1984 USGS mapMontello on the 1990 USGS map1984Montello sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Montello.

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.

DETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH SIDE - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street
Retake this viewDETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH SIDE - Montello Mercantile Company, 12 Main Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Montello, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,495

Between 394 and 1,495 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Glenoak, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Glen Oak
Gone or out of use
Krist Island AirportairportRex Ranch AirportairportSky Lodge Landing Stripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Montello
EastsideSaint John the Baptist

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

Help out

Finish Montello’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDETAIL OF SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, SOUTH S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

PackwaukeeIts storyB−ShieldsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuffalo1 historic placeBMarquetteIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMecanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Montello’s history

How does Montello rank for history?

Montello is more historic than 27% 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 Montello?

9% of Montello’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (15), Wikidata (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.