Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #46 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Middleton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2009. Its Register listing is the Middleton Substation. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1920.
The Middleton post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middleton is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #46 of 59 in Idaho. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Middleton’s 0.9 sits below most of its state (33% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 Middleton’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Middleton’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Middleton.
Middleton was named for its location midway between Old Fort Boise and Keeney’s Ferry, serving as a resting point for travelers en route to the ferry. In its early years along the Oregon Trail, it had a stage station, a post office established in 1866, and a water-powered grist mill built in 1871. The Ward Massacre occurred near the area in 1854.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereSally Boynton Brown is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Middleton. 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 Middleton.
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 Middleton post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Middleton is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #46 of 59 in Idaho. 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 Middleton Substation (listed 1973).
2% of Middleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2009.
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), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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