Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1890.
The Montague post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montague is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Montague’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Montague’s history is told.
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 year, then a sheet.
1892Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Montague. 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 Montague.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Montague yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Montague is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. Its population is 1,226 as of the 2020 census, down from 1,443 from the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,443 to 1,226 (-15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Montague, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first postoffice in the county was established at Montague in 1858. The mail carrier brought the mail twice a week from Gainesville. This seemed a long step toward progress to Montague County citizens, for previous to this they had to go to Decatur or Gainesville to get their mail.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 250 and 1,456 people in every census since 1890.
13 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Montague’s Wikipedia page.
Montague’s post office has been open since 1887.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Montague post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Montague is more historic than 32% 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.
12% of Montague’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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