Downtown Local Historic District
In 2023 the City of Stoughton designated its first Local Historic District: the Historic Downtown District. This area is the original city center for commerce, transportation, education, government, and recreation in Stoughton. The district roughly encompasses the buildings which front East and West Main Street from the Yahara River on the west to Seventh Street on the east.
The area that would develop as Stoughton’s Main Street commercial corridor was predominately constructed between 1860 and 1910. During this period, Stoughton developed as a regionally significant mercantile center for southern Dane and northern Rock counties, providing the region with extensive retail, financial, and professional services. These historical uses continue today and are reflected in the district’s diverse buildings and unique streetscape.
The district encompasses an architecturally significant collection of Victorian era and early twentieth-century commercial buildings ranging in style from the vernacular Italianate to the exuberant Beaux Arts, and sharing a cohesive unity in scale, material, and detail unsurpassed by commercial districts elsewhere in Dane County. The District is composed of approximately fourteen acres with fifty-seven contributing buildings, two potentially contributing buildings, thirteen non-contributing buildings, one non-contributing vacant lot, and three non-contributing parking lots.
The District is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has fourteen properties individually designated as local landmarks.