Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Washington was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1970 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 71% 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 71% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 137 sits above most of its state (96% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
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 Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,587 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,451 to 1,587 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Washington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sec. 7. The liabilities or indebtedness of the present county of Washington shall be paid, satisfied and discharged ratably by said county of Washington and county of Ozaukee, according to the last assessment of Washington County, except so far as the county of Washington shall have a fund, which shall be used in discharge of said indebtedness ; and in case there is a county fund on hand, or real or personal property now owned by said county of Washington, the same shall be divided between the said counties at the same rates as for the discharge of indebtedness. The Board of Supervisors of either county shall have power to audit claims for which both counties are liable.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Port Washington for five years. The act was passed January 25, 1847, and its provisions were as follows : Section 1. That for the term of five years from and after the passage of this act. the seat of justice of the county of Washington shall be established at the village of Washington, on Section 28, Township 11, Range 22 east ; and all district courts to be held in and for said county, during said time, shall be held at the public schoolhouse in said village, until some other and more suitable place shall be provided for that purpose.
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.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington.
1970Eagle River East sheet · 1:24,000U.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.
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 71% 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.
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Sunset Point (listed 1993, the first). 22 historic buildings in all.
7% of Washington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
