Richland Center dates to 1851, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #72 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 50 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richland Center’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richland Center is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #72 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richland Center’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 Richland Center’s 104 sits above most of its state (95% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1851.
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 Richland Center’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
Richland Center, building by building, 1883–1912
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.
Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira S. Haseltine from Andover, Vermont, northwest of Brattleboro. He was drawn to the site because of its abundant water power, fertile prairies, and its juxtaposition to the geographical center of Richland County. Haseltine offered to donate land to the county if Richland Center was chosen in a vote as the county seat. In 1852 the Wisconsin Legislature formally declared Richland Center as the seat of justice for Richland County. The present Richland County courthouse was built in Richland Center in 1889.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richland Center. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Richland Center sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Richland Center.
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.
Retake this viewFirst locomotive on the Richland Center Branch (Rockwell) - Photo taken in 1876, 1876
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Richland Center’s page.
In 1851, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Richland Center’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 1,227 people here.
How does Richland Center rank for history?
Richland Center is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #72 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 Richland Center?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the A. D. German Wholesale Company and Warehouse, Additional Documentation (listed 1974, the first), and 1 historic district, the Court Street Commercial Historic District, with 50 contributing buildings. 53 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Richland Center?
31% of Richland Center’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
1876
1911
1941
1941
2011
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