Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1901 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sumpter is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Sumpter’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sumpter’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sumpter. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sumpter.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sumpter.
The town was once called "Kingston," and this name conflicted with a same-named community in the state. At the start of the Civil War, the name was changed to "Sumter," in commemoration of the Battle of Fort Sumter, but an error in spelling on an early map resulted in the current name.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Sumpter, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In November, 1859, the Town of Ironton was created from parte of Marston and Washington, and in November, 1861, the name of the Town of Kingston was changed to that of Sumpter. From time to time there have been other slight changes in the boundaries of the towns, but no new ones have been created since 1861, the number remaining at twenty-two.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Herman E. Stone grew up on the old farm established by his father in the town of Sumpter, attended the schools maintained in that community, and then applied his best energies to making a home for himself, and he continued to be identified with farming there until six years ago, when he retired to a comfortable home in the City of Baraboo. He started out on a farm adjoining the old home place and later bought the homestead and still owns that place. At one time he was owner of between 500 and 600 acres, and two of his sons now have the active farm
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
2015Happy HIll
2015Driftless Area - panoramio (55)
2015Driftless Area - panoramio (54)
2015Bluffview Center of Hope
2014Sumpter Township Farm
2013US Hwy 12 Rock Cut
2013Farm in the Sumpter Township
2013Bluffview Civil Defense Siren
2013Barn near Devils Lake
2013Badger Ammo Wastewater Treatment Plant
2011Sumpter, WI, USA
2011Sumpter, WI, USA - panoramio (1)
2004WIMap-doton-SumpterAnother post office, Badger, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Sumpter is more historic than 35% 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.
13% of Sumpter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1976.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (13), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
