Spring Valley’s post office opened in 1846, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the Risum Round Barn, the West Luther Valley Lutheran Church and the Gempeler Round Barn. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1900.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spring Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Brodhead 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 Valley.
The Spring Valley area was first settled by logging crews in 1857. They had followed the Eau Galle River upstream from the sawmill settlement in Eau Galle, WI. The first family settled in 1861. The first school was built in 1867. The post office was established in 1870. A watermill was constructed in 1874. Iron ore had been discovered in the area in 1876, however mining would not take place until 1891/92. It was at that time the Eagle Iron (later Spring Valley Iron and Ore Company) started the “pig iron” industry. The smelting and ore industry would bring a large number of people to the village. This included miners, smelters, businessmen, and freemasons. Many of whom brought families. In 1895 Spring Valley officially became incorporated. Since then, Spring Valley has continued to grow while honoring and celebrating the historical past as residents get together to celebrate “Dam Days” (…
The village of Orfordville in the town of Spring Valley became incorporated on June 30, 1900, under the general statutes. The village of Milton in the town of Milton also became incorporated on September 17, under the general statutes.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 322Read the page →
Read the text
North Creek has its source in the southeastern corner of the town of Spring Valley, flows south and southwest into the town of Avon, and then follows a westerly course until it empties into Taylor's Creek.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Rock County, Wisconsin1879 · page 502Read the page →
Read the text
thirty-six square miles of territory. The south line of the town is the boundary line between the States of Illinois and Wisconsin — the base line, as it is termed, of the Government surveys in this section. The west line of the town is a part of the county line between the counties of Green and Rock. North of Avon is the town of Spring Valley ; east of it, the town of Newark. In its primitive state, about one quarter was prairie ; the balance, burr oak and white oak openings. As already mentioned, all that portion lying southwest of Sugar River was surveyed by the General Government during the first quarter of the year 1833 ; the residue, in the first quarter of 1834.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
(The Norwegian settlement west of Beloit in the towns of Beloit, Newark, Avon, Spring Valley and Plymouth has always been designated as "Rock Prairie"; this should not be confounded with the Rock Prairie that lies in Harmony, Johnstown and Bradford and La Prairie.)
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 Valley, 1846 to 1912
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
