Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the John C. and Barbara Steinman House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1880.
The Monticello post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monticello is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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 Monticello’s 16.8 sits above most of its state (81% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Monticello’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monticello. 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 Monticello.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltJohn C. and Barbara Steinman House is built
In the archiveGerman Reformed Church and Rev. Carl Heyl
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Monticello yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Monticello is a village in Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,192 as of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,217 to 1,192 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Monticello, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ter, engaging in that occupation in 1851. He was one of the prominent business men of Sylvester, and resided for considerable time in the village of Monticello, engaged in farming and other occupations. He was a member i»f the legislature of Wisconsin while a resident of Monticello. In 1863 he removed to Milwaukee and engaged in a commission business. From
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
school house on the northwest quarter of section 8, and emj)loyed Dr. Adams as teacher. In 1854 this building was moved into the village of Monticello and continued to be used for school purposes until 1860. It is now used as an ice house. The present school house of Monticello was built in 1860. It is a frame building two stories in iieight.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 sheet.
1912Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Monticello’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 156 and 1,217 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Monticello’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Monticello post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Monticello is more historic than 92% 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.
One place: the John C. and Barbara Steinman House (listed 2003).
37% of Monticello’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
