The story
Read it all →How Norway came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Norway.
Muskego Settlement, which was in the town of Norway, was one of the first Norwegian-American settlements.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Norway
Norway’s post office opened in 1847, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #102 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Norwegian Buildings at Heg Park. Below: maps from 1891 on.
1847first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Norway began
When was Norway founded?
1847
The Norway post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wind Lake (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 7,916179 years
How historic is Norway?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Norway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Norway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Norway is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #102 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Norway’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.2% of homes (±7.5) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 3.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 72%
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 Norway’s 3.8 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). 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 Norway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Norway’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Norway’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Norway on the map, 1891 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Norway. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Muskego sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Norway.
Timeline
Norway, 1847 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1847Post officeThe Norway post office opens
- 1852Post officeThe Wind Lake post office opens
- 1860
Born hereHenry F. Johnson is born here - 1872Post officeThe Norway post office closes
- 1885
Born hereJohn Edmund Fries is born here - 1891
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Wind Lake post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the National Register
1 historic place in Norway
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Norwegian Buildings at Heg Park
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Norway
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Norway had its own post office from 1847 to 1872. Another post office, Wind Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Norway
Wind Lake
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wind Lake
Gone or out of use
Colonel Heg Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
TichiganIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaterford1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDover1 historic placeBWind LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMuskego2 historic placesC+RaymondIts storyBRochester2 historic placesA−
Questions about Norway’s history
What year was Norway founded?
The Norway post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Norway rank for history?
Norway is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Norway?
One place: the Norwegian Buildings at Heg Park (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Norway?
14% of Norway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1984.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.