Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1954 on.
The Leopold post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.
Leopold was founded in 1842 by the Reverend Augustine Bessonies and named for the then-reigning king of Belgium, Leopold I. A post office was in operation at Leopold from 1846 until August 12, 2017.
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 Leopold’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Leopold.
Leopold was founded in 1842 by the Reverend Augustine Bessonies and named for the then-reigning king of Belgium, Leopold I.
A post office was in operation at Leopold from 1846 until August 12, 2017.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leopold. 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 Leopold.
Nobody well known was born in Leopold itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Leopold post office opened in 1846, 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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
