On its age, its old homes and the National Register, River Hills is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of River Hills’ 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 River Hills’ 6.1 sits above most of its state (68% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.7 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 River Hills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the early 19th century, the River Hills area was controlled by Native Americans, including the Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sauk people. The Menominee surrendered the land east of the Milwaukee River to the United States Federal Government through the Treaty of Washington in 1832. In 1833, the Potawatomi surrendered the land west of the river by signing the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, which (after being ratified in 1835) required them to leave Wisconsin by 1838. The land was organized as part of the Town of Milwaukee in 1835, and much of the land was bought by land speculators, who cleared the old-growth forests for timber. The first permanent white settlers were Joel and Cephas Buttles. The latter owned 160 acres in River Hills and built a cabin in 1843. In the mid-1840s, many families of Dutch settlers began arriving in the Town of Milwaukee to farm the land, but by the 1870s most of the…
River Hills is more historic than 71% 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 River Hills?
One place: the Range Line Road Bridge (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in River Hills?
17% of River Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
