Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: ADKMatthew · CC BY-SA 4.0More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.
The Hill City post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hill City is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hill City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Hill City’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hill City. 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 Hill City.
Peaked at 2,421 in 1960; 1,403 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hill City’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Hill City.
The first settlement at Hill City was made in 1876, making it the oldest town in Graham County. The community was named after W. R. Hill, a first settler. Hill City was platted in 1878. The first post office in Hill City was established in September 1878. Hill City was designated county seat in 1880. By 1915, Hill City had 647 inhabitants.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveOld gas stationOne decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nobody well known was born in Hill City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Hill City post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Hill City is more historic than 38% 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.
20% of Hill City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (3), 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.
1993
2012