The Roxbury post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Alden's Corners (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,871174 years
How historic is Roxbury?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roxbury post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roxbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roxbury is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roxbury’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 Roxbury’s 16.6 sits above most of its state (80% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.6 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 Roxbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Town of Roxbury has been called "Dane County's most historic township (sic)". Among its earliest recorded occurrences is the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, the penultimate engagement of the 1832 Black Hawk War between the United States militia and the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes, led by Black Hawk. After being pursued from Illinois, Black Hawk's band took a stand against the militia just south of the Wisconsin River, in what is today the Town of Roxbury. Although Black Hawk's band took severe casualties, their stand allowed several hundred noncombatant Sauk and Meskwaki to retreat to the Mississippi River which saved their lives.
Passages that mention Roxbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States1880 · page 885Read the page →
Read the text
When the territory now constituting the town of Dane was brought under a town government by an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved February 2, 1846, it was a part of the town of Madison. Afterward, by an act approved February 11, 1847, its territory, along with that now constituting the town of Roxbury, was formed into a town called Clarkson. By an Mtof the State Legislature, approved March 11, 1848, the name was changed to Dane. On alarch 21, 1849, Township 9 north, of Range 8 east, was erected into a separate town by the ^me name ; so called from the post office of that name then existing within its limits. The y'i^fiction for town officers was held on the first Tuesday in April of that year, at the house
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 407Read the page →
Read the text
The township of Roxbury lies in the northwestern corner of the county and includes all of township 9 north, of range 7 east, lying east and south of the Wisconsin river. Fish Lake covers a portion of sections 3 and 4. Crystal Lake, part of sections 1 and 2. Crane Lake is on sections 14 and 15.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... preceded by a history of Wisconsin, statistics of the state, and an abstract of its laws and constitution and of the Constitution of the United States1880 · page 309Read the page →
Read the text
enters Columbia County on the north line of the towns of Scott and Randolph, crosses the county in a line gradually veering to the west, and enters Dane County on the north side of the town of Vienna, trends thence south of west across the town of Dane, and then, bending more to the south, passes through the adjoining portions of the towns of Roxbury, Berry, Springfield, Middleton and Cross Plains, and leaves the county on the west side of the lastnamed town. The ridge has a general altitude of five hundred to six hundred feet, and a width sometimes of a whole township, but on both sides is rendered quite irregular by erosion, the the northern side especially projecting in long, bold points into the valley of the Wisconsin.
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
Roxbury, 1852 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Roxbury post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roxbury rank for history?
Roxbury is more historic than 68% 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 Roxbury?
Three places: the Kehl Winery (listed 1976), the Wisconsin Heights Battlefield (2002) and the Frey School (2011).
How old are the homes in Roxbury?
21% of Roxbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2004
