Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Macdoel was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Hotel Macdoel. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 2000.
The Macdoel post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Macdoel’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Macdoel.
In 2021, portions of Macdoel were placed under mandatory evacuation for fourteen days due to the Tennant Fire, which burned 10,580 acres (4,282 ha) in the area.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Macdoel. 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 Macdoel.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 86 and 140 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Macdoel’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Macdoel itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Macdoel post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Hotel Macdoel (listed 1982).
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), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
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