Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #45 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Most of Victor was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listing is the Victor Railroad Depot. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1920.
Victor dates its founding to 1889 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.
Victor was named for George Victor Sherwood, a dedicated mail carrier who delivered the mail despite threats of attacks.
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Victor is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Victor’s 3.3 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Idaho 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 Victor’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1950 and 1960, then grew 8-fold.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Victor’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Victor.
Victor was established in 1889 from four existing settlements, namely Trail Creek, Fox Creek, Chapin and Cedron. It was named for George Victor Sherwood, a dedicated mail carrier who delivered the mail despite threats of attacks.
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Victor. 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 Victor.
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.
1921Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Victor’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Fox, 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 1889, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Victor’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1920 counted 277 people here.
Victor is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Victor Railroad Depot (listed 1995).
2% of Victor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.
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