Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Laurens Carnegie Free Library. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1890.
Laurens dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.
Laurens was named in honor of Henry and John Laurens, father and son, two French Huguenots who became residents of Charleston, South Carolina, and were loyal to the Colonies during the Revolution.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurens is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Laurens’ 8.3 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Laurens’s history is told.
Peaked at 1,799 in 1960; 1,264 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laurens’ Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Laurens.
Laurens was platted in 1881. It was named in honor of Henry and John Laurens, father and son, two French Huguenots who became residents of Charleston, South Carolina, and were loyal to the Colonies during the Revolution.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Laurens, cut from the printed page as they were published.
after the war, engaged in the practice of medicine in Madison county. In 1884 he located in the new town of Laurens and continued the practice of medicine until his death at 58 in 1895. He was affable and pleasing in his manners and was highly esteemed by those who knew him.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
was unassuming in manner but aggressive in. spirit, and manifested a genuine interest in the public welfare of Laurens. He left a legacy of $1,000 to assist in establishing an Orphan's Home in the city of Laurens.
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.
BuiltLaurens Carnegie Free Library is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJesse Schmidt is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laurens. 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 Laurens.
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.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Laurens’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Lawrence, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Laurens’ post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1890 counted 318 people here.
Laurens is more historic than 67% 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 Laurens Carnegie Free Library (listed 1974).
36% of Laurens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (3), 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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