Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1880.
The Wanatah post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name.
Wanatah was named for Wanata, a Native American leader.
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 Wanatah’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Wanatah.
The first settlements were made at Wanatah in the 1850s when the railroad was extended to that point. Wanatah was platted in 1865. It was named for Wanata, a Native American leader.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Wanatah, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Wanatah, in Cass township, has had a mill where the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago rail¬ road crosses Hog creek (erroneously named Hawk creek on the county map of 1892) since Joseph L Unruh (wrongly called Nurwgh in Chapman’s History) established one there in 1867. He had very hopefully founded the vil¬ lage of Rozelle, but the completion of the railroad
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Groth store in Wanatah, and is proving a worthy successor of his honored father in the conduct of the business. Lulu Bell assists in the store, and the youngest child, Loman Monroe, is still at¬ tending school in Wanatah, in the eighth grade.
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.
2017Garage Sale 2017-06-02 026
2017Garage Sale 2017-06-02 007
2017Ball field 2017-06-02 009
2017Fifth Street Looking North, circa 1907Postcard
2013Wanatah High School, 1909Postcard
2010Water Fall and Pumphouse, circa 1910Postcard
2010Pennsylvania Railroad Coal Docks and Water Tanks, 1914Postcard
2010Looking North from Hotel, March 6, 1908Postcard
2010Interior View of Catholic Church, 1918Postcard
2009Speedway (US 30) P5250285
2007Wanatah P2240263
2007Smoker farm Wanatah P2240261Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wanatah. 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 Wanatah.
Between 372 and 1,048 people in every census since 1880.
7 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wanatah’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Wanatah itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Wanatah post office opened in 1862, 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 (12), 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 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.
