Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.
The Almena post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.
Almena was named by Margaret Coleman, an early settler and first postmistress, for Almena, Wisconsin, her hometown.
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 Almena’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Almena. 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 Almena.
Peaked at 703 in 1930; 363 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Almena’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Almena.
Almena was a shipping point located at the junction of two railroads. It was named by Margaret Coleman, an early settler and first postmistress, for Almena, Wisconsin, her hometown.
The first post office in Almena was established in June 1872.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Almena’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Almena itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Almena post office opened in 1872, 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 (1), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2013