Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Philadelphia post office opened in 1838, 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 Philadelphia’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was laid out and platted in 1838. It took its name from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the "city of brotherly love". A post office was established at Philadelphia in 1838, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1907.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Philadelphia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
After his privateering, Capt. Moffat was Master W arden of the port of Philadelphia for many years in succession, appointed by various Governors of the State of Pennsylvanin, which office he held until his decease in Philadelphia, on the 1st of May, 1838, at an advanced age.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nobody well known was born in Philadelphia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Philadelphia post office opened in 1838, 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 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.