On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Platteville is more historic than 32% 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 Platteville’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 Platteville’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 (±4.1 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 Platteville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Platteville was settled by pioneers and early lead miners; along inlets and flat groves of The Rountree Branch and Little Platte River. Part of the Platte River shed; these rivers flow into the greater Upper Mississippi River system. More specifically located in the Driftless Region of Southwestern Wisconsin. Due to its geographic location; areas of town are carved by ridges, narrow valleys, and steep hills. The influence of geography can also be seen in the irregularity of the streets in the community. As the town grew, roads were given odd routes, to avoid the steep ravines and mining shafts strewn about the locality.
After the war, the village grew gradually, and improvements succeeded the rude structures improvised in the early days of the settlement for business and residence purposes. In 1849, the precinct of Platteville was changed into the town of Platteville, with Benjamin 0. Eastman Chairman; railroad enterprises were projected upon numerous occasions, having Platteville for their base of operations or objective point, but all proved failures, and nothing more than speculation was indulged by enterprising citizens until 1867. In that year, individuals subscribed stock to the amount of $50,000, which was supplemented by subscriptions to the extent of $60,000, made by the town for the construction of a railroad from Calamine. In 1869, the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 694Read the page →
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After the war, the village grew gradually, and improvements succeeded the rude structures improvised in the early days of the settlement for business and residence purposes. In 1849, the precinct of Platteville was changed into the town of Platteville, with Benjamin C. Eastman Chairman ; railroad enterprises were projected upon numerous occasions, having Platteville for their base of operations or objective point, but all proved failures, and nothing more than speculation was indulged by enterprising citizens until 1867. In that year, individuals subscribed stock to the amount of $50,000, which was supplemented by subscriptions to the extent of $60,000, made by the town for the construction of a railroad from Calamine. In 1869, the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
[History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin1881 · page 182Read the page →
Read the text
The Dubuque, Platteville & Milwaukee railroad was completed in July, 1870, and extends from Calamine, a point on the Mineral Point railroad, to the village of Platteville, eighteen miles, and is operated by the Mineral Point railroad company Madison & Portage Railroad.
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In August, 1867. the people of Platteville, Elk Grove and Kendall subscribed stock to the amount of $270,000, in the Platteville & Calamine Railroad. In the latter part of 1869, the work was so far advanced that the road-bed was graded, and the iron had begun to be laid, and it was finally opened to Platteville July 1, 1870, and of this road the Witness said : " The road was built most of the way through a section of country, the citizens of which gave it no encouragement, and nearly without aid, except what the people of Platteville and Mr. Beecher, proprietor of the Mineral Point Railroad gave."
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
Platteville, 1888 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Platteville is more historic than 32% 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 Platteville?
12% of Platteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 Wikidata (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
