Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 45 buildings. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1950.
The Century post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Century is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Century’s 246 sits above most of its state (97% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 Century’s history is told.
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.
From Wikipedia’s history of Century.
Century was founded in 1901 as a sawmill company town, and named because 1901 was the first year of the 20th century. A post office has been in operation at Century since 1901. It was officially incorporated as the Town of Century in 1945.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Century, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The town of Century is not the typical mill village. While much property is owned by the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company, to which the town owes its existence, Century is a thriving community with some fine buildings made possible largely through the interest of the company and the county. The capital of the company is $100,000, and among its properties are the Escambia Railroad; water and light plant; sewer system and a
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Century. 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 Century.
Between 329 and 1,989 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Century’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Century’s post office has been open since 1901.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Century post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Century is more historic than 50% 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 Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company Residential Historic District (listed 1989).
11% of Century’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (4), 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 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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