Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Dagsboro was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listing is the Prince George's Chapel. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1880.
Dagsboro dates its founding to 1747 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
Dagsboro was named for John Dagworthy, a brigadier general of the Sussex County Militia during the American Revolutionary War.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereJohn M. Clayton is born here
Born hereHenry A. Houston is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dagsboro. 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 Dagsboro.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dagsboro’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dagsboro.
Dagsboro, incorporated in the early 1900s, is a town that is energized in summer by Delaware Route 26 beach traffic. The town, in the Indian River School District, was founded in 1747 and has been known as Blackfoot Town, Dagsbury and Dagsborough. It was named for John Dagworthy, a brigadier general of the Sussex County Militia during the American Revolutionary War.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dagsboro’s page.
Retake this view · +15The 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 58 people in 1880 to 870 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dagsboro’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Dagsboro’s post office has been open since 1837.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1747, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dagsboro’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 58 people here.
One place: the Prince George's Chapel (listed 1971).
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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), 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) 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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