Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1880.
The La Paz post office opened in 1873, 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.
Peaked at 651 in 1980; 475 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on La Paz’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of La Paz.
The town was founded in 1873 and was named for La Paz, Bolivia. At the time of its founding, it was served by the Chicago branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, now CSX. The B&O named a coach La Paz in 1949 to honor the town.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention La Paz, cut from the printed page as they were published.
East La Paz. • East La Paz is about three-fourths of a mile east of the original La Paz at the junction of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad and the Logansport & Terre Haute railroad, and is described as follows by Walter Kimble, the proprietor, his plat being filed for record February 14, 1855 : "East La Paz is situated in .southeast quarter of northeast quarter of section twenty-eight (28), township thirty-five (35) north, range two (2) east, at the crossing of the Baltimore & Ohio & Vandalia railroad, is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
East La Paz is about three-fourths of a mile east of the original La Paz at the junction of the Baltimore & Ohio & Chicago railroad, and the Logansport & Terre Haute railroad, and is described as follows, by Walter Kimble, the proprietor, his plat being filed for record, February 14, 1855: " East La Paz is situated in southeast quarter of northeast quarter of Section Twentj'-eight (28), Township Thirty- (35 1 five north. Range Two (2) east, at the crossing of the Baltimore & Ohio & Van-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Wahuit Hill, near the residence of Eb. Shirland, deceased, on the Michigan road, prior to the completion of the railroad through La Paz, was a postoffice and stopping place for the stage line between Plymouth and South Bend, at which the people of the neighborhood received their mail. But, upon the completion of the railroad, the postoffice was removed to La Paz, since which time its identity has become entirely lost.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of La Paz. 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 La Paz.
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 La Paz’s page.
Retake this view · +15Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The La Paz post office opened in 1873, 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 (6), 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.
1963
1963
1963
1963
2016