Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Cliff Theater. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1890.
The Wray post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wray is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wray’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 Wray’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.
1908Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Wray.
A post office called Wray has been in operation since 1882. The community was named after John Wray, a cattleman.
Wray was named an "All-America City" in 1993 by the National Civic League.
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.
20222022-09-11 14 40 06 Aerial view southward across east…
2017Yuma County, Colorado Court-House
2017Wray Community District Hospital
2017North Fork Republican River
2017Butte overlooking
2016Wray, Colo 2016-07-12 1288
2016Landform 2016-07-12 1289
2016Distance 2016-07-12 1287
2013Wray, Colorado Main from 5th E side 1
2013Wray, Colorado Main from 4th E side 1
2005Co Wray 800
2005COMap-doton-WrayEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wray. 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 Wray.
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.
Grew from 125 people in 1890 to 2,358 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wray’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Wray post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Wray is more historic than 60% 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.
One place: the Cliff Theater (listed 2013).
23% of Wray’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (12), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
