Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of York was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1880.
York first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, York Station (1866), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, York is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so York’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). 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 York’s history is told.
Peaked at 3,392 in 1980; 2,414 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on York’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of York.
Founded around 1838 after the merging of two communities, Old Anvil and New York Station, the latter a station on a stagecoach line. The rail came through in the 1850s and later, the "New" was dropped from York Station in 1861. With the discovery that another community in Alabama bore that name, the "Station" was dropped and York was formally incorporated on April 6, 1881.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of York. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of York.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1924Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
York’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, York Station, 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).
The York post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
York is more historic than 18% 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.
3% of York’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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