Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1960 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington is more historic than 60% 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 Washington’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 Washington’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Washington is a town in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Hill Point and Sandusky are located in the town.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,007 in 2010, 1,021 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Washington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
be paid by Ozaukee to Washington County. The final contract of settlement was as follows : The undersigned, J. C. Downs, Harvey Moore and Adolph Zimmerman, Committee appointed by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the county of Ozaukee, in the State of Wisconsin, and invested with full power to meet a Committee on the part of Washington County, in said State, and to make and adjust a final settlement with said County of Washington, and William Rolin, .lames Holfe and Chauncey Gray, Committee appointed by a resolution of the Hoard of Supervisors of Washington County to meet a Committee on the part of Ozaukee County for the same purpose, and with the same persons, have agreed upon and do hereby agree upon a final settlement of all claims, accounts and indebtedness of every kind, nature and description, between the said counties of Washington and
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington. 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 Washington.
Nobody well known was born in Washington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Another post office, Sandusky, 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.
Washington is more historic than 60% 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.
31% of Washington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 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.
