Exchange Square Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

From the record

“The Exchange Square Historic District is a commercial historic district in downtown Brodhead, Wisconsin. The district contains thirty-eight buildings, thirty-five of which are considered contributing buildings to its historic character.”
Wikipedia article Exchange Square Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 31 National Register listings published here for Green County · listed in 1984 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Roughly bounded by 10th, RR tracks, E. 2nd and W. 3rd Aves., Brodhead, 53520
When was it listed? November 1984
Category. district
City. Brodhead city
National Register reference number. 84000724 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Brodhead city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Green County, Wisconsin, published 1884 - Brodhead City

Wagon And Carriage Manufacturers

The first to manufacture wagons at Brodhead was William Spencer, who commenced here in 1857. He manufactured a few wagons and continued in the busiiK'ss until the war broke out, when he enlisted in the 18th Wisconsin regiment, and went into the service. At the battle of Sliiloh he was severely wounded; removed

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

22,119 words

The chapter on Brodhead City in History of Green County, Wisconsin, published 1884 names Brodhead. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

In the extreme eastern portion of Green county lies the village of Brodhead - one of the most important business centers in the southern part of the State. It is beautifully located, on an undulating prairie, which extends eastward from the Sugar river. The civil town in which the village is located is one of the banner subdivisions of Green county. The Sugar river, which winds its course to the west of the village, furnishes excellent water privileges here, which have been utilized, and now comprise a valuable concomitant of the village in propelling a vast amount of machinery. The inhabitants here are almost wholly Americans - people from the New England and northern States, who have brought with them the culture and refinement of the eastern States, the absence of which, in some portions of the west, is so painfully apparent. Brodhead is by no means an old town, yet a quarter of a century and more has passed since its inception. Almost a generation has come and gone since Brodhead became a fixed fact. While there is nothing remarkable in the changes that have been wrought, there is a great deal to occupy the attention of the historian and attract the interest of the reader.

Passage source: History of Green County, Wisconsin, published 1884.

The plat of Brodhead covers all of section 25, and portions of sections 24 and 36, township 2 north, range 9 east. The Mineral Point branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway passes through the village from east to west, and a branch of that line of railway has been extended from this place to Albany. The Sugar river touches the northwest corner

Passage source: History of Green County, Wisconsin, published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Brodhead City - 22,119 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

14 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Exchange Square Historic District between 2018 and 2020, burning about 12 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	7
Smoking	3
Power generation/transmission/distribution	1
Arson/incendiarism	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
29 June 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	68
20 June 2018	Power generation/transmission/distribution	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	105
17 June 2020	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	60
29 April 2018	Debris and open burning	5.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	78
23 April 2018	Smoking	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	74
22 April 2018	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	72
15 April 2019	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	19034
12 April 2018	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources	64

Every fire recorded in Green County

Mines and quarries near this property

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Exchange Square Historic District: 3 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Coles Quarry	Stone	Unknown
Egan Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Knight Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Rock County Highway Department	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
State Right of Way Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Green County

Storms near this property

35 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brodhead, the town this property stands in, in 35 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 12 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 7 flood, 3 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
March 2023	Tornado (EF0)	Brodhead	$200,000	Tornado started just south of Decatur Lake and tracked to the north through Decatur Lake Golf Course, causing some minor tree damage. Further to the north, a barn had roof damage with a number of sheets of metal lofted off of the building. Tornado tracked into a small portion of Rock County before disapating.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$100,000	The Green County Emergency Manager reported $100,000 of damage from severe thunderstorm winds 4 miles southwest of Brodhead. The damage included 2 barns/sheds with one losing it's roof to the powerful winds. The severe winds peeled siding off of one home, and broke windows and pushed in the door on another home.
March 2013	Flood	Brodhead	$15,000	The Sugar River near Brodhead crested at 7.25 feet, 2.25 feet above flood stage, at 1200 pm CDT on March 12th.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$15,000	no account filed
June 1996	Flash Flood	Brodhead	$15,000	no account filed
June 2013	Flood	Brodhead	$10,000	The river gauge on the Sugar River in Brodhead remained above flood stage from the afternoon of June 24th into early July. The creek experienced moderate flooding, cresting at 8.86 feet at 2:00 AM CDT on June 28th, which is 3.86 feet above flood stage.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$10,000	Trees down.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$7,000	Law enforcement officials reported trees blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 60 mph (58 knots) in Brodhead.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$6,000	Around 6 pine trees were knocked down as a thunderstorms moved through the area.
February 2018	Flood	Brodhead	$5,000	The Sugar River reached moderate flood stage, cresting at 9.59 feet in Brodhead. There is widespread flooding of lowland and agricultural land in the Brodhead area. Floodwaters cover roads about 6 miles downstream into the Avon Township of Rock County. Floodwaters are over Highway T which is on the border of Green and Rock Counties.
July 2017	Flood	Brodhead	$5,000	The Sugar River at Brodhead crested at 8.72 ft., which is moderate flood stage. There is widespread agricultural land flooding in the Brodhead area. Some roads are either closed or experience minor flooding, including Ten Eyck Rd. Downstream, floodwaters are over County Road T which is the border of Green and Rock County.
April 2013	Flood	Brodhead	$5,000	The Sugar River near Brodhead experienced minor flooding, cresting at 7.02 feet, or 2.02 feet over the flood stage of 5 feet, at 4 AM CDT on April 12th.
April 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$5,000	no account filed
March 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$2,000	Large trees and road signs were damaged.
October 2018	Flood	Brodhead	$1,000	The Sugar River at Brodhead reached moderate flood stage, cresting at 8.63 ft. There is widespread agricultural and lowland flooding in the Brodhead area. Floodwaters are over Highway T which is on the border of Green and Rock County.
August 2018	Flood	Brodhead	$1,000	The Sugar River reached moderate flood stage, cresting at 9.29 feet in Brodhead during the early afternoon of August 23rd. There is widespread flooding of lowland and agricultural land in the Brodhead area. Floodwaters cover roads about 6 miles downstream into the Avon Township of Rock County. Floodwaters are over Highway T which is on the border of Green and Rock Counties.
May 2004	Lightning	Brodhead	$1,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	$1,000	no account filed
May 2005	Hail	Brodhead	$500	A windshield was broken.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	-	In the Brodhead area, powerful thunderstorm winds uprooted a few dozen trees and broken branches fell on and snapped several power lines.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	-	General public reported a swath of downed trees from Martintown to northwest of Brodhead. Scattered pockets of felled trees were reported in a band about 3 miles wide.
July 2010	Funnel Cloud	Brodhead	-	A trained spotter reported a rotating funnel cloud 7 miles southwest of Brodhead.
August 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	-	County sheriff deputies reported trees and power lines were blown down by the strong thunderstorm gusts.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Brodhead	-	Trees down.
September 2015	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
June 2009	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
May 2004	Funnel Cloud	Brodhead	-	no account filed
August 2003	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
October 2001	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
June 2000	Funnel Cloud	Brodhead	-	no account filed
August 2000	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
June 1998	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed
May 1994	Hail	Brodhead	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Green County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	Francis West Smith House	under 500 feet	1979
	Albert and Minna Ten Eyck Round Barn	2.7 miles	2016

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 84000724 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Green County	All 31 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.