Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 34 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1850.
Morgantown dates its founding to 1831 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morgantown is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morgantown’s 260 sits above most of its state (90% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Morgantown’s history is told.
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.
From Wikipedia’s history of Morgantown.
Morgantown was founded by Robert Bowles and Samuel Teeters, who first laid out 52 lots in March 1831. A post office has been in operation at Morgantown since 1833.
The Morgantown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Morgantown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Itesoloed, That the coat arms of the town of Morgantown Shall be as follows; For the reverse, a medallion, on the outer face of which shall be the words "Morgantown, West Virginia, Condita A. I). L785," surrounding the words "Centennial, Welcome L885," and <>n the obverse the motto, "Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum, "and the legend "Regina Monongahelse," on the outer face surrounding a figure of a queen with up-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
assignee of John Masterson, 361- acres of land, at the mouth of the West Fork, including said Masterson" s settlement made thereon in 1774. The tradition, that Zackquill Morgan, the original proprietor of the site of Morgantown, came here with the said David in 1768, or soon afterwards, is also probably true. It appears from the surveyor's books of Monongalia count}*, that on the 29th day of April, 1781, there was "surveyed for Zackquill Morgan, assignee of Isaac Lemasters, 220 acres of
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
In the archiveRip's Drive-inOne decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morgantown. 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 Morgantown.
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 sheet.
1910Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Morgantown’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 230 and 1,134 people in every census since 1850.
14 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morgantown’s Wikipedia page.
Morgantown’s post office has been open since 1833.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1831, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Morgantown’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1850 counted 230 people here.
Morgantown is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
One place: the Morgantown Historic District (listed 2006).
33% of Morgantown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1952.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1977
1977
2022
2011
2010