Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 1930.
Roxana dates its founding to 1921 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roxana is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age 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 Roxana’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Roxana’s history is told.
Peaked at 2,090 in 1960; 1,454 people lived here in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Roxana’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Roxana.
In 1918, Shell Oil Company opened its Wood River Refinery in what was then called "Wood River Field", an area south of the city of Wood River. As houses began being built close to the refinery, the population there grew to the point that, in 1921, this unincorporated area became the incorporated village of Roxana.
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 hereHarry Gallatin is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Roxana. 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 Roxana.
Roxana’s post office has been open since 1926.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1921, according to Wikidata. Roxana’s post office opened in 1926, and the census of 1930 counted 1,139 people here.
Roxana is more historic than 28% 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.
21% of Roxana’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1948.
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 (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.
2006
