New Richmond dates to 1857, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #146 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of New Richmond was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 79 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Richmond’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Richmond is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #146 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Richmond’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 New Richmond’s 92.0 sits above most of its state (94% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 97 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). Two sources give 1857.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 New Richmond’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
New Richmond, building by building, 1887–1912
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.
New Richmond was founded in 1857. The first permanent settlement was established by Hiram Foster, who had led a group of settlers from Vermont into the area in search of virgin Wisconsin timber for harvesting. Foster built and operated a sawmill on the banks of the Willow River, which gradually drew more settlers from New England into the area. For the first few years the settlement was called Foster's Crossing, and was later renamed after Richmond Day, the land surveyor who plotted the town. Because another town in Wisconsin had already taken the name Richmond, it was decided to call the town New Richmond.
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.
In 1857, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Richmond’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 729 people here.
How does New Richmond rank for history?
New Richmond is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #146 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 New Richmond?
15 listings: 12 buildings, among them the Dr. Frank W. Epley Office (listed 1988, the first), and 3 historic districts, the New Richmond West Side Historic District, the New Richmond East Side Historic District and the New Richmond Commercial Historic District, with 79 contributing buildings. 97 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in New Richmond?
10% of New Richmond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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 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.
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