The Quick Answer: The Assessor's Year Built
- Madison: look up your address on the City Assessor's property lookup.(City of Madison) Under Residential Building Information, read Year Built. The record also shows Roof Replaced, style, walls, foundation and roof.(City of Madison)
- The Assessor's Sales for this Area report lists year built for each sold house in an assessment area, which helps date a neighborhood.(City of Madison)
- Commercial records don't show building details online; the page says to email the Assessor.(City of Madison)
- Elsewhere in Dane County: AccessDane doesn't show year built.(AccessDane) Ask your town's assessor; each town's assessor page is linked from our AccessDane guide. Sun Prairie's Assessing page has a detailed property report.(City of Sun Prairie)
- The Wisconsin Historical Society notes that old tax rolls can reveal an original construction date. Local clerks, assessors or the county keep them.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
Old Building Permits
- The Historical Society says old permits can show the year built, later alterations, the builder, dimensions and cost. Historical permits may be kept apart from recent ones.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Madison: the Permit Reports page links an address search in the city's permit system.(City of Madison) For the full permit record of an address, the city says to file a public records request.(City of Madison) Development Services Center: 608-266-4551.(City of Madison)
- Other towns: permit records sit with the building, planning or records office, depending on the town.(Wisconsin Historical Society) Permits by town lists who to call.
Aerial Photos
- DCiMap: search your address, open Basemap Gallery, and step through the years: 2024, 2022, 2020, 2017, 2014, 2010, 2005, 2000, 1995, 1987, 1976, 1974 and 1937.(Dane County DCiMap) If your house is in the 1974 photo but not the 1937 one, it was built in between. See using DCiMap.
- Dane County's earliest set is from 1937, taken by the USDA.(UW–Madison GeoData)
- WHAIFinder, from the State Cartographer's Office and UW's Robinson Map Library: free, public-domain photos searchable by address, starting with the 1937–41 statewide set, with JPEG or TIFF downloads.(State Cartographer's Office)(State Cartographer's Office) Open WHAIFinder.
- The Robinson Map Library at UW–Madison is open to the public, and anyone can view and scan its aerial photos for free. It warns that early photos were taken for crop estimates, so single buildings can be hard to see.(UW–Madison Robinson Map Library)
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
- Sanborn maps show each building's size, shape and construction material, with street names and house numbers. Sanborn stopped updating them in the late 1970s.(State Cartographer's Office)
- The Library of Congress has 11 Madison items: 1885, 1892, 1898, 1902, 1908, added sheets from 1919 and 1923, 1942 in two volumes, and 1942 updated to 1950 in two volumes.(Library of Congress) The 1942 volume 2 also covers Maple Bluff, Monona and Shorewood Hills.(Library of Congress)
- Reading them: yellow is a wood frame building, pink is brick, and "D" marks a dwelling. A number on a building gives its stories, and "B" means a basement.(Library of Congress)
- Compare editions: a house missing from one year and drawn on the next was built in between. The Historical Society holds paper Sanborns for 325 Wisconsin communities and a full microfilm set.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
Historic Records and Districts
- The Wisconsin Historical Society's Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) holds records of more than 151,000 buildings and structures, most with exterior photos. You search it by year, community, style and use.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Being in the AHI gives no special status, rights or benefits. The inventory isn't complete, and some records are dated.(Wisconsin Historical Society) You can email the Society to add or correct a record, with the AHI number and your sources; it updates only what it can verify.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Its property record search (about 133,000 properties) shows whether a property is on the State or National Register.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Madison has five local historic districts and 184 local landmarks, overseen by the Landmarks Commission.(City of Madison) The districts: Mansion Hill (1976), Third Lake Ridge (1979), University Heights (1985), Marquette Bungalows (1993) and First Settlement (2002).(City of Madison) The landmarks list gives each address and year.(City of Madison)
- In those districts and on landmarks, exterior changes, new building and demolition need a Certificate of Approval before the building permit. Preservation planner: 608-266-6552.(City of Madison)
- National Register listing is honorary, separate from local designation, and not regulated by the Landmarks Commission. Madison has 16 National Register districts, each with its nomination form.(City of Madison)
Past Owners and Deeds
- Madison's Assessor record has a Sale/Conveyance Details tab with past grantors, grantees, dates and prices.(City of Madison)
- The Register of Deeds' online index starts in January 1975, and older records are being back-indexed.(Dane County Register of Deeds) For older deeds, visit the office; most records can be viewed free there.(Dane County Register of Deeds) See deeds and records.
City Directories, Census and Photos
- The Historical Society's guide to researching old buildings lists drawings, permits, photos, Sanborn maps, city directories, censuses, local histories, plat maps and tax rolls.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- City directories give the names and jobs of past residents. The Society's large collection can be used only in person, at 816 State Street in Madison.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- Census records from 1790 to 1940 are on microfilm there, and can show that a house stood in a census year and who lived in it.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- The best old photos of a house usually come from previous owners or their families.(Wisconsin Historical Society)
- For what a house's age means for its wiring, pipes and paint, see older homes.
Questions
How do I find out when my house was built?
In Madison, look up the address on the City Assessor's property lookup and read Year Built under Residential Building Information. Elsewhere, ask your town's assessor, since AccessDane doesn't show year built. To check or narrow the date, compare old aerial photos in DCiMap (back to 1937) and Sanborn maps, and look for the original building permit.
Can I see old building permits for my house?
In Madison, search permits by address through the Permit Reports page, and file a public records request for the full permit record of an address. Other towns keep their own permit records at the building inspection office.
How do I know if my house is historic?
Search the Wisconsin Historical Society's property records to see whether it's on the State or National Register, and its Architecture and History Inventory for any survey record. In Madison, check the city's lists of local historic districts and landmarks.
Does being in the Architecture and History Inventory restrict my house?
No. The Wisconsin Historical Society says an inventory listing confers no special status, rights or benefits. Local designation is different: in Madison, exterior changes to a designated landmark or a house in a local historic district need a Certificate of Approval first.
Where can I see Sanborn maps of Madison?
The Library of Congress has 11 Madison Sanborn items online, from 1885 to 1942 updated to 1950. The Wisconsin Historical Society holds a full microfilm set.