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History · Ridgeway

17% of Ridgeway’s homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1910.

2on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Ridgeway’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ridgeway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ridgeway, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ridgeway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ridgeway’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hyde's Mills
1864–1894
Hyde
1894–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hyde
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ridgeway
EastsideRugglesSaint Bridget's

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Ridgeway, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ridgeway yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ridgeway is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 624 at the 2020 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Ridgeway. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 568 in 2010, 563 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ridgeway, 1860 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Born hereEvan Lewis is born here
  3. 1862BuiltHyde Chapel is built
  4. 1864Post officeThe Hyde's Mills post office opens
  5. 1882BuiltPlum Grove Primitive Methodist Church is built
  6. 1894Post officeThe Hyde's Mills post office closes
  7. 1894Post officeThe Hyde post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902Post officeThe Hyde post office closes
  10. 1916Born hereJane Farwell is born here
  11. 1938Born hereTom Davis is born here
  12. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ridgeway, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Field with Round Bales2013Field with Round BalesBarn and Silo South of2013Barn and Silo South ofRidgeway Tower2008Ridgeway TowerRidgewaywi2007Ridgewaywi
On the map

Ridgeway on the map in 1962

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

Ridgeway on the 1962 USGS map1962Jonesdale 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 Ridgeway.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Ridgeway

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Hyde Chapel
Hyde Chapel, built 1862Plum Grove Primitive Methodist Church, built 1882
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Hyde ChapelGreek Revival · Built 1862
Plum Grove Primitive Methodist ChurchGothic Revival · Built 1882

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Ridgeway, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 689

Between 365 and 689 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ridgeway

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
T
Tom DavisAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1938
Evan LewisAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1860
J
Jane FarwellFolk dance teacher · b. 1916
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dodgeville1 historic placeABrigham1 historic placeA−Arena1 historic placeBWaldwickIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ridgeway’s history

What is on the National Register in Ridgeway?

Two places: the Hyde Chapel (listed 1988) and the Plum Grove Primitive Methodist Church (1995).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.