West Salem dates to 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #218 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Most of West Salem was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1860. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Salem’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Salem is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #218 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Salem’s overall grade.
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 West Salem’s 9.4 sits above most of its state (76% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1856.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 →
What stands out about West Salem’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
On the National Register
3 historic places in West Salem
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
West Salem was platted in 1856. It was named Salem by a Baptist minister named Elder Card because the word meant "peace" in Arabic and Hebrew. The word West was added to the name when mail was confused with another town in the state named Salem.
The donation of approximately ten acres of land to a railway company led to the creation of West Salem. A station was built in West Salem on the original Milwaukee and La Crosse Railway which ran to La Crosse. It was later taken over by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (later becoming the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad). The railway used the land to build a depot and tracks.
Mississippi at the city of La Crosse. The La Crosse River, althougli meandered by the United States Surveyors when the public lands were surveyed, is not navigable. There are two tlouring-mills ujion the river within La Crosse County, one .-it the village of Neshonoc, about the center of the county, one mile north of West Salem, a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee k St. Paul and Chicago & Xorth-Wcstern Railroads, and another about two miles below Neshonoc. The former of these two mills is owneil by Alexander McMillan, and has six run of stone; one of those run is e.xclusively for grinding feed, and the other five, with rolls and modern machinery, for making patent tlour.
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
West Salem, 1855 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1856, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. West Salem’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 432 people here.
How does West Salem rank for history?
West Salem is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #218 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.
What is on the National Register in West Salem?
Three places: the Hamlin Garland House (listed 1971), the Palmer Brother's Octagons (1979) and the Derwood and Myrtle Trimbell House (2022).
How old are the homes in West Salem?
7% of West Salem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (11), 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, 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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