Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1982 on and the census since 1910.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Withee is more historic than 47% 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 Withee’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 Withee’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Withee.
James S. Boardman was the first settler in Withee, arriving in 1870. George Richards and David R. Goodwin arrived shortly after. A post office named Winneoka was established there in 1874 at the farm of Bernard Brown, who also sold small supplies. Before that, both mail and supplies had been hauled from Greenwood and Chippewa Falls.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Withee.
1982Lombard 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 Withee.
Between 329 and 509 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Withee’s Wikipedia page.
Another post office, Sterling, 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.
Withee is more historic than 47% 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.
20% of Withee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
