Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1962 on and old-book passages.
The Idaville post office opened in 1860, 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 Idaville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Idaville.
Idaville was originally called Hannah, and under the latter name was laid out in 1860, when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation under the name Idaville since 1860.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Idaville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Idavillb Six years after the Town of Burnettsville was platted, on July 27, 1860, Andrew Hanna, John B. Townsley and John McCully laid out the Town of Hanna, now called Idaville, three miles west of the former village. It was platted on the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter and the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 28, township 27 north, range 2 west.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Castleton — On February 28, 1838, one Cyrus B, Uarlinghouse became firmly convinced that a sand dune about a mile east of the present Town of Idaville would some day become a great city. Possessed with this idea he laid out a town of forty-eight lots and called it Castleton. This was twenty-two years before the railroad was built, and all of the above named towns were laid out before the Indians were taken to the far west.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Idaville. 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 Idaville.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Idaville post office opened in 1860, 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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
2015