Richmond, WI

Richmond started as part of somewhere else. The town's own history page says it was part of Whitewater Township until 1841, when an act of the Legislature made it a separate town, and that it is named for Richmond, Rhode Island. Wikipedia dates its founding to 1837.

The first land claims date to the summer of 1837. The town history records a claim on the south half of Section 1 on August 1, 1837, with more claims the same year. The first town meeting was held on April 5, 1842 at the Richmond House on County Road A, a building that later served as a hotel for travelers between Janesville and Milwaukee.

The roads came before the town. The history says County Road A was known as the Old Post Road from Janesville to Milwaukee, and that another early wagon route from Blue Mound to Milwaukee followed what is now Territorial Road. A farm on Territorial Road that served as a stopover is now Walworth County's Natureland Park.

Dairying shaped the next century. The town history lists creameries built around 1890, a cheese factory at the Whitewater town line that later became the Whitewater Lake Inn, and the Richmond Mill, built on County Road A in August 1926 and closed in March 1983. The one-room schools closed in the 1940s and 1950s, and in 1956 the rural schools united into what became Lakeview School. The Richmond Center School building at Highway 89 and County Road A then served as the town hall.

Richmond is a Wisconsin town, a unit of government with a town board and no incorporated center. The Census 2024 gazetteer gives it 35.354 square miles of land and 0.629 square miles of water. The 2020 census counted 1,901 people, and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimated 1,918 as of January 1, 2025.

The town history describes the land well. The north is rolling and hilly with oak openings; the south has marshland and prairie. The town sits on the county's western line, across from Johnstown in Rock County.

Three places inside the town have names on the map. Wikipedia lists the unincorporated communities of Lake Lorraine, Richmond and Turtle Lake, and the Census treats Lake Lorraine and Turtle Lake as census-designated places. The Richmond crossroads sits near Highway 89 and County Road A, close to the town hall at W9046 County Road A.

Addresses are a common source of confusion. The town hall uses a Delavan mailing address, and businesses in the town list both Delavan and Whitewater addresses. A listing that says "Delavan" or "Whitewater" can be in the Town of Richmond rather than the city of Delavan or Whitewater. Mailing address, municipality and school district are three separate facts, and I check all three.

Zillow's August 2026 index of $438,159 is above the Delavan and Whitewater ZIP indexes, but a fraction of what lakefront costs on Geneva Lake, and the 2025 tax rate in the Delavan-Darien part of the town was about 8.59 net mills.

Turtle Lake is 30 feet deep but subject to no-wake orders at high water, and Lake Lorraine is 8 feet deep.

Vernon Hills is close to an hour and a half in free-flow traffic, and downtown Chicago more than two hours. Services mean a well, septic, sometimes propane, and a fire department that depends on which side of County Road A you are on. The BECI power line question will not be settled until the state acts on a route, likely after an application in 2027.

The town's resources page is the most practical document a buyer can read, and it settles most of the questions I hear from Illinois buyers looking north.

Fire and rescue split at County Road A. The town says the Whitewater Fire Department and Rescue Squad serve all areas north of County Road A, and the City of Delavan Fire Department and Medix Ambulance Service serve everything south of it. Fire and ambulance charges are the responsibility of the user. Your insurer will ask which department covers the address.

Police. The Walworth County Sheriff's Office provides police protection and traffic control, and patrols Whitewater Lake during boating season.

Roads and driveways. The town plows, sands and mows its roads. It also requires private drives to be kept 12 feet wide with 14 feet of overhead clearance for emergency vehicles, and says emergency vehicles are not obligated to serve homes they cannot reach. On a wooded acreage parcel, measure the drive. There is no parking on any town road without permission.

Trash and brush. The town's garbage page says ASDA collects refuse and recycling weekly, on Mondays near the lakes and Thursdays elsewhere. Brush chipping runs the first Monday of each month from June to November by appointment, with the first 10 minutes free and $30 per 10 minutes after that.

Taxes. Bills are mailed in December. The first installment is due January 31 to the town treasurer, and the second is due July 31 to the Walworth County Treasurer.

Burning. Controlled burns must be reported to the sheriff on the day of the burn. If you skip that and someone else reports it, the town says you are responsible for the $900 fire run.

Richmond has no subdivisions that dominate the market, so I sort it into five kinds of place. The school district, fire department and lake district can change with each one.

Turtle Lake is the town's main lake community. The Census Turtle Lake place covers 0.866 square miles of land. Its ACS 2020-2024 estimates count about 231 homes, 74 of them seasonal, with a median owner value of $338,300 and a median build year of 1966, all with wide margins. Expect smaller older homes and cottages near the water and newer homes set back.

Lake Lorraine is the second. The Census place covers 1.117 square miles of land, and the ACS estimates count about 163 homes, 25 of them seasonal, with a median owner value of $221,600 and a median build year of 1969. Richmond Community Park sits on West Lake Lorraine Road.

The Whitewater Lake edge is the third. The town lists boat access to Whitewater Lake at Krahn Drive and Townline Road, and the Whitewater Lake Management District levies on part of the town. Homes near this edge sit closer to the state forest and the city of Whitewater.

The Richmond crossroads, around Highway 89 and County Road A near the town hall, is the fourth. The rest of the town, the fifth and largest, is farm country: farmsteads, cropland, wetlands near Turtle Creek and the state wildlife area, and country homes on town roads.

I have not closed a sale in Wisconsin; I am working toward a Wisconsin license.

The town's history page names its principal lakes the old way: Lake No. 9 in Section 9, now Lake Lorraine; Lake No. 10 in Section 10; and Turtle Lake across parts of Sections 11 through 14. The outlet of Turtle Lake is Turtle Creek, which flows south across the town. Whitewater Creek rises in Section 3 and flows north to feed Whitewater Lake. Here is what each lake offers a buyer.

Turtle Lake is the deepest. The DNR lake page lists 141 acres, a maximum depth of 30 feet, moderately clear water, panfish, largemouth bass and northern pike, and a public boat landing. Water level matters here. On September 21, 2026, at the request of the Turtle Lake Improvement and Protective Association, the town chair declared all of Turtle Lake a no-wake zone because of high water. The town says no-wake goes on when the lake reaches 900.35 feet above sea level and comes off at 900.25.

Lake Lorraine is larger and shallow. The DNR lists it at 155 acres with a maximum depth of 8 feet, panfish and largemouth bass, and a public boat landing. A shallow lake suits paddling, fishing and small boats more than water-skiing.

Whitewater Lake is the big one, and Richmond holds part of its south shore. Wikipedia's Kettle Moraine article puts it at 625 acres, with several public access points and the state forest's Whitewater Lake campground nearby. The town's resources page lists launches at Krahn Drive and Townline Road, and says vehicle and trailer parking is allowed only at the Lake Lorraine and Turtle Lake launch areas.

Two citizen groups look after the town's own lakes. The town names the Turtle Lake Association and the Lake Lorraine Restoration and Protection Association. On Whitewater Lake, the Whitewater Lake Management District is a separate unit of government that meets the second Thursday of each month at the Whitewater Town Hall.

Richmond's housing is overwhelmingly detached houses, and older than most of the county. The Census ACS 2020-2024 estimates count 945 of the town's 1,000 housing units as one-unit detached, about 94.5%. The median year built is 1973, and 143 homes date from before 1940, with another 206 from the 1940s and 1950s.

Seasonal homes are a real share. The same estimates count 207 homes held for seasonal or recreational use, about 20.7% of the total, mostly around the lakes. Of the 783 year-round occupied homes, 627, about 80.1%, are owner-occupied and 156 are rented.

Heating varies. The Census counts 502 occupied homes on utility gas, 167 on propane (about 21.3%), 65 on electricity, 26 on fuel oil and 20 on wood. Ask about the fuel and the age of the heating system on any older lake home.

What that adds up to is a mix of lake cottages and post-war ranches near Turtle Lake and Lake Lorraine, farmhouses and outbuildings across the countryside, and a smaller set of newer country homes from the 1990s on. Because the Census does not publish lot sizes for a town, I check acreage parcel by parcel.

Zillow publishes a home value index for Richmond. The Zillow Home Value Index was $438,159 in August 2026, up 4.5% from $419,366 in August 2025 and up from $408,190 in August 2024.

The Census number is lower. The ACS 2020-2024 median value for owner-occupied homes is $309,400, plus or minus $34,453. Zillow estimates today's typical value across all homes, including lake and seasonal homes; the Census asks year-round owners over five years of surveys. The gap is normal.

For context, Zillow's August 2026 index was $344,098 for the Delavan ZIP code 53115 (up 5.4% in a year), $368,735 for the Whitewater ZIP code 53190 (up 5.3%), and $411,444 for Walworth County as a whole.

Richmond is not a luxury market, and I would rather say so plainly. The Census estimates only about 9 owner-occupied homes in the town valued at $1 million or more, with margins larger than the count, and about 91 between $500,000 and $999,999. Turtle Lake's median owner value is $338,300 and Lake Lorraine's $221,600 in the same survey.

Where Richmond earns attention is land. The DOR's 2025 equalized values show $6.1 million of agricultural land, $6.0 million of agricultural forest, $4.4 million of forest and $3.2 million of undeveloped land, plus $37.7 million in the "other" class, which covers farm buildings and the homesite under a farmhouse. For a buyer who wants acreage with a lake nearby, that is the opportunity.

Wisconsin property tax is a mill rate, meaning dollars per $1,000 of assessed value. The DOR checks each town's assessments against market value every year. For 2025, the DOR's Town, Village and City Taxes report put Richmond's assessment level at 1.00, so assessments sat right at market on average. The same report gives an effective full-value tax rate of 0.989% after the school levy credit, against 0.945% for all Walworth County towns.

The Walworth County Treasurer's 2025 rate sheet lists these rates on Richmond property: the county at 2.314 mills, the town at 0.911, Gateway Technical College at 0.530, Whitewater Unified at 7.727 and Delavan-Darien at 6.333. The school levy tax credit takes off 1.497 mills. Parcels inside the Whitewater Lake Management District add 0.615 mills.

By my arithmetic, the net 2025 rate before the lottery credit is about 9.98 mills in the Whitewater district and 8.59 mills in the Delavan-Darien district. That 1.39-mill gap is worth about $556 a year on a $400,000 home, before you even look at the schools.

A worked example: a $400,000 home at a 1.00 assessment level is assessed at about $400,000. In the Whitewater district that is about $3,994; in the Delavan-Darien district about $3,436. If the parcel is in the Whitewater Lake district, add about $246. A primary residence then gets the lottery and gaming credit, which the DOR computes by multiplying a $27,000 credit value by the school tax rate, so roughly $170 to $210 here. Second homes do not qualify. Improved parcels also get the first dollar credit, based on a $9,000 credit value for 2025-26 per the DOR's November 20, 2025 notice.

At closing, Wisconsin's real estate transfer fee is $0.30 per $100 of value, or $3 per $1,000. On $400,000 that is $1,200.

Coming from Lake County, Illinois, the tax bill is the first thing people compare, so I run these numbers early. This is general information, not tax advice; get the actual bill for any parcel before you write an offer.

Richmond is under Walworth County zoning. The town's land management page says owners considering a rezoning, conditional use or variance should start with the county's Land Use and Resource Management office, then get the town's own application from the town clerk. The town adopted the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code for one- and two-family homes built after June 1, 1998, with a town building inspector; commercial inspections go to the state.

On the lakes, the county's shoreland zoning guide governs what you can build. Shoreland covers all land within 1,000 feet of a navigable lake, pond or flowage and 300 feet of a navigable stream. That reaches well beyond the first row of lots on Turtle Lake and Lake Lorraine, and it can reach farm parcels along Turtle Creek.

The rules that matter most: the 75 feet nearest the ordinary high water mark is the shore yard, where homes, decks, patios, pools, fences and most other structures are prohibited. The setback can be averaged with neighbors but never below 35 feet. The first 35 feet is a no-touch vegetation buffer, except a view and access corridor up to 35% of the frontage. Lots may cover 15% with impervious surface, or up to 30% with a county permit, mitigation and a deed restriction. Homes within 75 feet of the shore are capped at 35 feet high, and 45 feet beyond that.

For a lake cottage, these rules decide whether a teardown can be rebuilt where it sits. For an acreage buyer, the county zoning district decides whether a parcel can be split or a second structure built. I check both before anyone gets attached to a plan.

Plan on a private well and septic system for most of Richmond. Walworth County's sanitation page says the county issues all sanitary permits and inspects every new system, and that state law requires every private onsite wastewater treatment system to be pumped, inspected and reported to the county. The county keeps an online database of each system's three-year maintenance history, which anyone can search. Pull that history before you make an offer on a lake cottage, where older systems and small lots are common.

The county's list of sanitary and lake districts, dated 2006, does not show a sewer district in the Town of Richmond. Confirm sewer status for any specific parcel with the county; do not assume it from the lake.

About 21.3% of occupied homes heat with propane, by the Census count, and most of the rest with utility gas. If the house is on propane, ask whether the tank is owned or leased and what the last year of deliveries cost.

The well and septic inspection is the contingency I would never waive in a town like this. The county posts lists of licensed well and septic inspectors, soil testers and haulers on the same page.

Richmond is split between two school districts. The town's resources page names the Whitewater Unified School District and the Delavan-Darien School District, and says the tax bill shows the district for each property. Confirm every address with the district.

Remember the tax side: the Whitewater district's 2025 school rate on Richmond property was 7.727 mills against 6.333 for Delavan-Darien. Two houses a mile apart can differ on both schools and tax. The town also posted a presentation on a Whitewater school referendum on September 25, 2026; read the district's own materials before you assume the current rate holds.

I ran routes from Turtle Lake through the OSRM routing engine on October 5, 2026. These are free-flow estimates with no traffic, so treat them as the best case.

To Vernon Hills, the trip is about 58 miles and 1 hour 26 minutes, south through Delavan and Elkhorn to US 12 and into Illinois. To downtown Chicago, about 94 miles and 2 hours 14 minutes. To O'Hare, about 80 miles and 2 hours 13 minutes.

North and west, Milwaukee is about 55 miles and 76 minutes, and Mitchell International Airport about 51 miles and 73 minutes. Madison is about 53 miles and 76 minutes, and Janesville about 24 miles and 38 minutes.

For errands, Delavan is about 8 miles and 21 minutes, Whitewater about 10 miles and 20 minutes, and Elkhorn about 11 miles and 29 minutes. Lake Geneva is about 21 miles and 36 minutes.

Richmond is farther west, and the longer drive is part of why its prices are lower.

There is no train service in the town. The nearest Metra station is Harvard, the end of the Union Pacific Northwest line, about 28.5 miles and 45 minutes from Turtle Lake by OSRM. Using Metra's published GTFS schedule for the week of October 5, 2026, Harvard has 14 weekday inbound trains, and the 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. departures reach Ogilvie in 92 minutes.

Fox Lake, the end of the Milwaukee District North line, is about 40 miles and 57 minutes away, with 16 weekday inbound trains taking 88 to 93 minutes in the morning.

Amtrak's Hiawatha stops at the Milwaukee Airport station, about 51 miles and 73 minutes from Turtle Lake. Amtrak's GTFS feed shows southbound trips from that station reaching Chicago Union Station in about 79 to 91 minutes depending on the date.

Any train commute from Richmond runs well over two hours door to door. For most buyers it is an occasional option, and the car is the plan.

The largest public land in the area is the Turtle Valley Wildlife Area. The DNR's property page describes about 2,300 acres in western Walworth County, northwest of Elkhorn, split by County Highways P and O, with two small tracts on Turtle Lake and one large tract south of it. The DNR says the area was created in 2000 on muck soils once farmed for mint, restored with berms and broken drain tile into nine flowages, with prairie planted on the uplands. In 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation transferred 420 more acres of restored wetland along Turtle Creek to the DNR. An area around the DNR buildings off Highway O is closed year-round, and a waterfowl refuge beside it closes seasonally.

Walworth County's Natureland Park is on West Territorial Road east of Brown Road, according to the town's resources page, on the old farm the town history says once served as a stopover on the Blue Mound to Milwaukee road. Richmond Community Park, with a playground, ball diamond and picnic shelter, is on West Lake Lorraine Road.

The Kettle Moraine State Forest's Southern Unit begins just north, around Whitewater Lake, with campgrounds, the Ice Age Trail and, farther east in La Grange, the John Muir mountain bike trails. I cover those in my La Grange guide.

The town also allows bicycling on all town roads, and asks walkers to stay on the left facing traffic.

The issue on everyone's agenda in Richmond is a proposed high-voltage line. Midcontinent Grid Solutions opened public input on August 5, 2026 for the BECI project, a 765-kilovolt line of about 190 miles from Crawford County to Walworth County near the Illinois border, according to MGRID's report. The developer puts the cost at $1.2 billion. BECI stands for Bell Center to Columbia to Sugar Creek to the Illinois and Wisconsin state line. Written comments closed September 7, 2026; the company plans to apply to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in early 2027 and targets service in 2034. A TMJ4 report from the developer's Delavan open house said construction would start in 2029, with the line connecting at a substation near Elkhorn.

The town has taken a formal position. The town board signed a resolution opposing the line on August 31, 2026, and the town's September 9 update lists a township impact statement, a road impact statement, resident comments mailed and emailed to the developer, and a planning letter. It also lists steps under consideration: asking the county to fund legal opposition, budgeting town funds, and registering as an intervenor when the state case opens. On September 22, 2026, the town posted a letter to the county board on the issue.

No final route exists, and I have not seen a map that places the line on any specific Richmond road. For a buyer, the practical step is to check the developer's current route segments and the PSC docket before closing on acreage, and to ask the seller what notices they have received.

The Town of Richmond has no police department of its own. The Walworth County Sheriff's Office provides police service and traffic control, and its contact details are on the town's resources page. I don't characterize the safety of any town or neighborhood. Anyone who wants the data can ask the sheriff's office or look it up in the FBI Crime Data Explorer.