Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Avoca was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975.
The Avoca post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Avoca’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Avoca.
Avoca was platted in 1819. The community likely took its name after the River Avoca, which was mentioned in a poem by Thomas Moore. The Avoca post office was established in 1856.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nobody well known was born in Avoca itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Avoca post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 (1) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2016