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B−History
History · Redgranite

Redgranite’s post office opened in 1897, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1910.

1897first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Redgranite’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Redgranite began

When was Redgranite founded?

1897

The Redgranite post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,521 in 19102020 census: 2,061129 years

How historic is Redgranite?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Redgranite post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Redgranite’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redgranite is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Redgranite’s overall grade.
Founding era1897, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.8% of homes (±13.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder

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 Redgranite’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.8 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 Redgranite’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1910 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · People over time

Redgranite, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001920194019601980200020201,521 in 1910Low: 588

Lost half of its people between 1910 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Redgranite’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Redgranite came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Redgranite.

Read it all →

A post office called Redgranite has been in operation since 1897. The village was named after deposits of red granite in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Redgranite, 1897 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Redgranite post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveLabor Day at Red Granite, Wisc
  5. 1911In the archivePublic School
  6. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 2,149
By decade

Redgranite, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s9 items
Labor Day at Red Granite, Wisc1908Labor Day at Red Granite, WiscLabor Day at Red Granite, Wisc1908Labor Day at Red Granite, WiscLabor Day. Red Granite, Wisc1908Labor Day. Red Granite, WiscPresentation of U.S. flag to Labor Unions by I.O.O.F Lodge. Labor Day. Red Granite, Wisc1908Presentation of U.S. flag to Labor Unions by I.O.O.F …Public School1911Public SchoolMain St1911Main StNew Eagle Theatre1911New Eagle TheatreNew Public School1911New Public SchoolC. & N.W. [i.e. Chicago & Northwestern] Depot1911C. & N.W. [i.e. Chicago & Northwestern] Depot
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
RedGraniteWisconsinDowntownWIS212008RedGraniteWisconsinDowntownWIS21RedGraniteWisconsinDOTSignWIS212008RedGraniteWisconsinDOTSignWIS21
On the map

Redgranite on the map in 1961

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Redgranite.

Redgranite on the 1961 USGS map1961Redgranite sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Redgranite.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Labor Day at Red Granite, Wisc
Retake this viewLabor Day at Red Granite, Wisc, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Redgranite’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Redgranite’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLabor Day at Red Granite, Wisc: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WarrenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeon1 historic placeA−LohrvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Redgranite’s history

What year was Redgranite founded?

The Redgranite post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Redgranite rank for history?

Redgranite is more historic than 49% 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 Redgranite?

30% of Redgranite’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (8), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.