Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1905 on and old-book passages.
Panora dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1852.
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Panora is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Panora’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Panora’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Panora.
Panora was platted in 1851. Panora is the oldest community in Guthrie County and was its county seat until 1876 when Guthrie Center became the county seat.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Panora, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 1852 a petition was sent to the Post Office Department, for a post office at Panora, (the petitioners did not ask for a mail route, as they knew they could not get it,) which was granted, and John Anderson appointed post master. The citizens paid the expenses of carrying the mail, which was done by any person who might be going either way.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Lewis Harvout, also a real estate dealer, came to Panora in May, 1854. The same year, was appointed Treasurer and Recorder, to fill a vacancy. At the same time he taught the school (the second ever taught in Panora) at the enormous salary of $12.50 per month. He attended to the duties of the treasurer's office mornings, noons, evenings, and Saturdays (I am not informed how late he worked Saturday nights.) He taught the school for two or three-
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.
Born hereCharles McKinley Saltzman is born here
Born hereRalph Nichols is born here
In the archiveEqual Suffrage Convention attendees in Panora, Iowa November 1905One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Panora’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Panora’s post office has been open since 1852.
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 1851, according to Wikidata. Panora’s post office opened in 1852.
Panora is more historic than 53% 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.
46% of Panora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1948.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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