Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1900.
Danforth dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.
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 Danforth’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Danforth.
Danforth was laid out in 1872 when the railroad was extended to that point. It mainly started out with most of the population being farmers and their families. The village was named for its founder, George M. Danforth.
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 Danforth. 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 Danforth.
Between 362 and 604 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Danforth’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Danforth itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Danforth’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Danforth Station, 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 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Danforth’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1900 counted 407 people here.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, 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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