The Westford post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lost Lake (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,313162 years
How historic is Westford?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Westford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Westford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westford is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westford’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 Westford’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Westford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Westford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Westford is a town in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,313 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of South Randolph is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lost Lake is also located partially in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1864. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,228 to 1,313 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Westford in 1880
Passages that mention Westford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 696Read the page →
Read the text
EDWARD C. STARK, teacher, Randolph; is a son of Abiel and Jane A. Stark, early settlers in the town of Westford, a sketch of whom is given in this work ; Edward C. was born in the town of Lime, Conn., May 31, 183S; in 1851, with his father's family he came to Westford, Dodge Co., which has been his home much of the time since ; he received the early part of his education in the dis trict schools of Connecticut and Dodge Co., attending, perhaps, the first, district school in the town of Westford ; during the winter of 1857-53, and for two or three years folbwing, he attended the Wayland University at Beaver Dam, Wis., but on account of ill health, he was forced to give up his studies before completing the course ; in 1861, he went to Iowa, and sp3nt a year in recuperating and looking after some
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin, containing a history of Dodge County, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc1880 · page 683Read the page →
Read the text
his mother, a woman of rare Christian virtues, is yet spared him; May 2, 1853, he sailed from Liverpool for America, and landed at St. John, N. B., June 5 following; he then went to Massachusetts, where he followed working on the railroad for a short time, and then worked at farm labor there for fourteen months ; in the fall of 1855, he came to the town of Westford, Dodge Co., Wis., where he built a lime-kiln on Beaver Dam Island, and from which he furnished the lime to build the Fox Lake Seminary ; he continued that business for two years and for the next two years was employed by the C, M. & St. P. K. R,. Co. to saw wood ; in 1859, he bought a farm of forty acres in Sec. 15, Westford, which was his home till 1867 ; he then sold that and bought this present one of 160 acres in Sec. 9, town of Calamus, where he has since
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dodge county, Wisconsin, containing ... its early settlement, growth ... an extensive and minute sketch of its cities ... war record, biographical sketches1880 · page 468Read the page →
Read the text
From 1845, after the completion of Brewer's saw-mill, there seems to have been large yearly accessions to the village of Fox Lake and the surrounding towns of Westford, Trenton, etc. In 1849, we find as residents here many whose names are now prominently known as those of early settlers. We append a few, as follows : George W. and John L. Brower, * John Van Eps, * Hamilton Stevens, Darius J. Wells, J. C. Williams, T. T. Blauvelt, * David Green, Q. H.
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
Westford, 1864 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Westford post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Westford rank for history?
Westford is more historic than 34% 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 Westford?
14% of Westford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1971.
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.
