Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 40 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1850.
Gosport dates its founding to 1829 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1895Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions 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.
Born hereEugene Stoner is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archivePHOTOCOPY FROM CA. 1896 POSTCARD SHOWING WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN AT GOSPORT, FROM COLLECTI…From Wikipedia’s history of Gosport.
Gosport was platted in 1829, and named for Ephraim Goss, an early settler. A post office has been in operation at Gosport since 1843.
The Gosport Historic District and Dr. H.G. Osgood House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1968PHOTOCOPY FROM CA. 1896 POSTCARD SHOWING WILLIAM JENN…Postcard
1968PHOTOCOPY OF POSTCARD SHOWING 1913 FLOOD, FROM HARRY …Postcard
1968PHOTOCOPY, WATER, OTHER RAILROAD BUILDINGS, AND THE N…
1968Photocopies, unknown photographer and date - New Alba…
1968Photocopies, unknown photographer and date - New Alba…
1968Photocopies, unknown photographer and date - New Alba…Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gosport. 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 Gosport.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gosport’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 548 and 860 people in every census since 1850.
17 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gosport’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1829, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gosport’s post office opened in 1843, and the census of 1850 counted 548 people here.
Two places: the Dr. H. G. Osgood House (listed 1999) and the Gosport Historic District (2013).
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
