Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1900.
The Brook post office opened in 1859, 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 Brook’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Brook.
Brook was laid out in 1866. A post office has been in operation at the town since 1859.
The George Ade House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Brook, cut from the printed page as they were published.
When Cold Brook became a separate charge in 1871, the minister had to have a place to live in the village of Cold Brook. Different houses were hired at divers times. From the spring of 1880 to the spring of 1885, the pastors, Chase, Holmes and Northup, resided in the Stillman house.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
I he building that has housed from year to year these Methodist wor¬ shipers in Cold Brook has needed repairs and new furnishings from time to time. In 1882 the church was repaired at a cost of $235. The organ was purchased in 1 883 for $ 1 20. In October, 1 890, the Ladies Aid Society bought two new stoves for the church. At this time the church was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Survey
2019North side 19-07-12 192
2019Main St 19-07-12 173
2019Main St 19-07-12 172
2019Main St 19-07-12 167
2019Main St 19-07-12 (may be Warner or Castle Hall) 166
2019Hotel 19-07-12 195
2019Hotel 19-07-12 194
2019Gerts Funeral Home 19-07-12 181
2019Gas Station 19-07-12 175
2019Davis & Myers 19-07-12 193
2019Back of Main St 19-07-12 190
2019Back of Main St 19-07-12 189
2019Armstrong 212 Main 19-07-12 191
2019121, 123, 125 Main 19-07-12 170
2019117, 119. 121 Main 19-07-12 (may be Warner or Castle …
2011Main Street (Brook) P5160110
2009McKinley Park P6280098
2009Brook P6280086Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brook. 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 Brook.
Between 677 and 1,067 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Brook’s Wikipedia page.
The Brook post office opened in 1859, 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 (18), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
