State Bank of Spring Green · Photo: Bahrsoap · CC BY-SA 4.0

–Not graded

History · Spring Green

1 of Spring Green’s places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the State Bank of Spring Green. Most of Spring Green was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.

1on the National Register

7%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

5famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Spring Green’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Spring Green’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1915, drew every building in Spring Green.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spring Green’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewCarousel, House on the Rock: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Every building

Spring Green, building by building, 1894–1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Spring Green fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 1

1894Sheet 1 of 1

Edition

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Spring Green, in brief

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

Spring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,566 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Spring Green. It is perhaps best known for the architect Frank Lloyd Wright's estate Taliesin and related tourism.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,697 to 1,828 (+8%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Spring Green in 1880

Passages that mention Spring Green, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In November, 1850, the remainder of Town 10, Range 5, was added to the town of Honey Creek, in accordance with the prayer of residents therein, and, at the same sitting of the board, the town of Honey Creek was divided, and the town of Spring Green created, the latter being set off as follows : "Co… — **The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..**1880 · page 340Read the page →
Read the text
In November, 1850, the remainder of Town 10, Range 5, was added to the town of Honey Creek, in accordance with the prayer of residents therein, and, at the same sitting of the board, the town of Honey Creek was divided, and the town of Spring Green created, the latter being set off as follows : "Commencing two miles north of the south line of Town 9, running thence west to the west line of the county, and all that part of said town lying south of said line shall be a town called Spring Green."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

This town is the largest in area of any of the towns in the county, there being above fiftythree sections in all. Like the town of Spring Green, it is bordered on the south by the Wisconsin, on the north by the town of Honey Creek, on the east by the town of Prairie du Sac, and on the west by the t… — **The history of Sauk County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources ... biographical sketches ..**1880 · page 664Read the page →
Read the text
This town is the largest in area of any of the towns in the county, there being above fiftythree sections in all. Like the town of Spring Green, it is bordered on the south by the Wisconsin, on the north by the town of Honey Creek, on the east by the town of Prairie du Sac, and on the west by the towns of Spring Green and Franklin. The surface, in some portions, is exceedingly broken. The belt of bluffs that courses along the northern boundary of Spring Green, and which appears to be the boundary of some great body of water, continues its way from east to west, through the south central part of Troy, forming a prominent division between the northern and southern parts of the town. The soil south of these bluffs is generally quite
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

Spring Green, 1870 to 1996

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

19th century
1870Born hereJane Peyton is born here
20th century
1915BuiltState Bank of Spring Green is built
1936Born hereRichard Haas is born here
1954Born hereAnthony Weston is born here
1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1980In the archiveCarousel, House on the Rock
1996Born hereBrandon Gilbeck is born here

By decade

Spring Green, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items

1980Carousel, House on the Rock

Sculpture outside the House on the Rock, Wisconsin's leading tourist attraction

1980Sculpture outside the House on the Rock, Wisconsin's …

1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

On the map

Spring Green on the map, 1960 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spring Green. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1960Spring Green sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Spring Green.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewCarousel, House on the Rock, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Spring Green’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Spring Green

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2010

State Bank of Spring Green

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1

State Bank of Spring GreenClassical Revival · Built 1915

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

People over time

Spring Green, census by census

Between 422 and 1,628 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Spring Green

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

See all →

Brandon GilbeckAmerican basketball player · b. 1996

Anthony WestonAmerican logician · b. 1954

Jane PeytonAmerican actress · b. 1870

Richard HaasAmerican muralist · b. 1936

Evan Alfred EvansUnited States federal judge · b. 1876

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Oak Ridge Estates

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wyoming5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Arena1 historic placeB ClydeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town FranklinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Buena VistaIts storyC⁺Lone RockIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Bear CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Troy1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Spring Green’s history

What is on the National Register in Spring Green?

One place: the State Bank of Spring Green (listed 2010).

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 the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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