Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Hugh M. and Rachel A. Brook House. Its Register listing is the Hugh M. and Rachel A. Brook House. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1890.
The Blue Mound Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.
Blue Mound Township was named by its first postmaster, John Q. Adams, because its elevation is said to look blue from a distance.
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 Blue Mound Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Blue Mound Township.
Blue Mound was laid out in 1882. It was named by its first postmaster, John Q. Adams, because its elevation is said to look blue from a distance.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blue Mound Township. 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 Blue Mound Township.
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.
Between 219 and 738 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blue Mound Township’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Blue Mound Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Hugh M. and Rachel A. Brook House (listed 2025).
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
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