Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #1 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 184 buildings. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1870.
The Vinton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1849.
Vinton was named for Hon.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vinton is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #1 of 140 in Iowa. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
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 Vinton’s 386 sits above most of its state (99% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 191 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vinton’s history is told.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Vinton.
Vinton was founded in 1849. It was named for Hon. Plynn Vinton, a state legislator. The first railroad line was extended to Vinton in 1869, and it was incorporated as a city that same year.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereCalvin Pearl Titus is born hereBuiltFrank G. Ray House & Carriage House is built
Born hereBing Miller is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vinton. 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 Vinton.
Between 2,460 and 5,257 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vinton’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Vinton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1849.
Vinton is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #1 of 140 in Iowa. 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.
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Benton County Courthouse (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Central Vinton Residential Historic District, with 184 contributing buildings. 191 historic buildings in all.
44% of Vinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2005
2004
2003
2003