Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Aviston was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listing is the James C. Twiss House. Its Register listing is the James C. Twiss House. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.
The Aviston post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aviston is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aviston’s 4.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Illinois 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 Aviston’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aviston. 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 Aviston.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Aviston yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Aviston is a village in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,340 at the 2020 census, up from 1,945 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,945 to 2,340 (+20%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Grew from 367 people in 1880 to 2,340 in 2020, 6 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aviston’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Aviston post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Aviston is more historic than 60% 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 James C. Twiss House (listed 2010).
5% of Aviston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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