Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Princeton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princeton is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Princeton’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 Princeton’s 206 sits above most of its state (98% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 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 Princeton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A post office has been in operation in Princeton since 1849. The city was named after Princeton, Massachusetts. On March 4, 1920, "the village trustees passed a resolution to become a city of the fourth class." After that, "The resolution was approved by the state and Princeton became a city."
Princeton was formerly named "Pleasant Valley" and was part of Marquette County.
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.
The Princeton post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Princeton rank for history?
Princeton is more historic than 97% 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.
What is on the National Register in Princeton?
One place: the Princeton Downtown Historic District (listed 1997).
How old are the homes in Princeton?
45% of Princeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1947.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1910
1910
1911
1913![C. & N.W. [i.e. Chicago & Northwestern] Depot](https://images.townratings.com/story/18998/3abd261f71507de79a21-s.jpg)
1913