Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Briarcliff was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 2000.
Briarcliff first appears in the census in 2000.
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 Briarcliff’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Briarcliff.
The community began as a small retirement community near Lake Norfork following completion of the Norfork Dam. Initially an unincorporated area, residents voted to incorporate as a town in 1997. In 2000, town residents approved upgrading Briarcliff's status to a second-class city in order to establish a municipal government.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Briarcliff. 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 Briarcliff.
Between 236 and 240 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Briarcliff’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Briarcliff itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Briarcliff post office opened in 2000, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2024
2023
2005
