On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rolling is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rolling’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 Rolling’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 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 (±5.5 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 Rolling’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Rolling, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rolling yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rolling is a town in Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,432 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Elmhurst is located within the town. The town established a post office in 1882. It was later discontinued in 1884.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,504 to 1,432 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rolling in 1922
Passages that mention Rolling, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. government survey to present time, with biographical sketches1922 · page 174Read the page →
Read the text
Rolling township was the first Langlade County civil division to be surveyed by the United States government. William T. Bradley of the United States government Department of Surveying with headquarters at Dubuque, Iowa, commenced the survey of Rolling October 13, 1853, and completed it October 24, 1853.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. government survey to present time, with biographical sketches1922 · page 240Read the page →
Read the text
Rolling township soil varies from level to very gently undulating. It has a gentle slope excepting the south central sections which are quite hilly. Three distinct types of soil are found in Rolling. The Merrimac silt loam, extending on an average to 12 inches in depth, is found in sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and parts of sections 1, 2, and 9. Gloucester silt loam, an extensive soil, is found running in a northeast and south-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Rolling, 1881 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Rolling is more historic than 44% 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 Rolling?
19% of Rolling’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
