Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1880.
Brayton dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
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 Brayton’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Brayton.
Brayton was laid out in 1878. Brayton was the name of a railroad employee. The first school was opened in Brayton in 1896.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 244 in 1920; 143 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brayton’s Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Brayton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
tenant of the Audubon Mounted Infantry company, which saw no service and became obsolete at the close of the war, the following year. Upon the return of peace, he became a prominent farmer near his former home, and is a large landowner. He was proprietor of the town of Brayton in 1879, and was a merchant in Brayton from 1879 to 1887, afterwards being a dealer and shipper of live stock. He was postmaster at Brayton. A lifelong Republican, he has been an active worker in the party, and many times has been a delegate to Republican conventions. He has served as township
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Brayton was laid out by John S. Jenkins and John T. Jenkins on the northwest quarter of section 19, Exira township, December 16, 1878. It was incorporated in 1899. These have held the office of mayor : Dr. William R. Kool), .Frank G. Jenkins, Nis Larsen, Lewis C.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brayton. 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 Brayton.
Nobody well known was born in Brayton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1878, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Brayton’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1880 counted 38 people here.
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), Wikipedia, 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.
2021
2020
2004
