Founding year: the first Westby post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Westby’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westby is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westby’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 Westby’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.
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 (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Westby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Westby was named after general store owner and Civil War Union soldier Ole T. Westby of Biri, Norway, where many of the city's Norwegian-American settlers originated. Westby Coon-Prairie Lutheran Church in Westby was established in 1851. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad began servicing Westby and surrounding townships in August 1879, and the La Crosse and Southeastern Railroad began service to the area in January 1905, though both railroads have long since ceased local operations. The Westby depot was torn down in 1970.
Passages that mention Westby, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history1884 · page 483Read the page →
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In 1884 district No. 7 was comparatively a new district, which embraced the village of Westby. Here a large comfortable school house stands, furnished after the latest plans and methods.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Vernon county, Wisconsin ..1884 · page 396Read the page →
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Thirteen new school houses were built during the year. One in Christiana, costing $745 in the pleasant and thriving village of Westby,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Vernon county, Wisconsin ..1884 · page 483Read the page →
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Ole T. Westby, in whose honor the village of Westby was named, was a merchant on the site of the village for fifteen years. His uncle, Evan Olson, came to Viroqua at a very early day, and in 1849 his father, Tosten Olson Westby, came to Vernon county from Norway, and stopped with his brother Evan for a time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history1884 · page 489Read the page →
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They have eleven children, two sons and nine daughters. • Ole T. Westby, in whose honor the village of Westby was named, was a merchant on the site of the village for fifteen years. His uncle, Evan Olson, came to Viroqua at a very early day, and in 1849 his father, Tosten Olson Westby, came to Vernon' county from Norway,
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
Westby, 1863 to 1987
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.
The Westby post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.
How does Westby rank for history?
Westby is more historic than 46% 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.
How old are the homes in Westby?
26% of Westby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 the Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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