The Rutland post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stone (1895), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,977180 years
How historic is Rutland?
A
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rutland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Rutland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rutland is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rutland’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 Rutland’s 53.9 sits above most of its state (89% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.1 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 Rutland’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.
The story so far
Rutland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rutland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rutland is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,977 by the US Census Bureau 2020 census The population was 1,887 at the 2000 census. However, for 2021, the Wisconsin Dept. of Administration declared the population of the Town to be 2,032. The unincorporated communities of Rutland and Stone are located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,966 in 2010, 1,977 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rutland, 1874–1880
Passages that mention Rutland, 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 841Read the page →
Read the text
In addition to the lake already mentioned, are two others, one, Bass Lake, situated in the northeast quarter of Section 24, another situated in the northeast quarter of Section 2. In the town of Rutland, there is but one post office ; this is at the village of Rutland, which is the only village in the town. TOWN OF DUNKIRK.
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 1197Read the page →
Read the text
Co. in 1818 ; his father, Joseph Bell, was bora in Sussex Co., N. J., and settled on a small place in Warren Co., where he devoted his time to various kinds of business. The mother of our subject, Elizabeth Parker, was also a native of Sussex Co. Almon emigrated from New Jersey to Dane Co., Wis., in 1848, and settled on Sec. 21, town of Rutland, where he has since lived, and now haa a farm of 120 acres. In 1852, he left his family on the farm in this town, and crossed the plains with an ox-team to California, and there engaged in mining for nearly three years ; whence, in 1855, he returned to his home in Rutland, and has since been engaged in farming. Mr. Bell has heen variously connected with the public interests of the town, holding every oflSce in the town except that of clerk, and serving in the capacity of Chairman for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 408Read the page →
Read the text
The first town meeting was held in April, 1846. Jonathan Lawrence was elected Chairman, and S. W. Graves, Town Clerk. The town was named after the town of Rutland, in Vermont. At present there are eight school districts, with good school houses. There are three churches, be¬ longing to the Methodists, United Brethren and Free Will Baptists, re¬ spectively. The village of Brooklyn, in Green county, touches the south¬ west corner.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Madison, Dane County and surrounding towns1877 · page 390Read the page →
Read the text
the United Brethren church at a little village on the west, with a small meeting house; and a Methodist church, with a good house of worship in the village of Brookl}Ti, in the township of Rutland, the viUagc being on the line of two towns. There is quite n church of regular Baptists in town^ tut they unite with the church in Unionj and have a good house of worship there.
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
Rutland, 1845 to 1901
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Rutland post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rutland rank for history?
Rutland is more historic than 89% 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 Rutland?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Pond, Daniel, Farmhouse (listed 1980, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Rutland?
21% of Rutland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.1 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 (7), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
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