Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
Johnson City dates its founding to 1885 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnson City is more historic than 42% 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 Johnson 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: Wikidata (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 Johnson City’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnson 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 Johnson City.
From Wikipedia’s history of Johnson City.
Johnson City was established in 1885; it was originally called Veteran because many of its founders were Civil War veterans. It was renamed Johnson City in 1886, in honor of A. S. Johnson, a railroad official.
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 archiveSANTA FE RAILROAD ENGINE ON THE TRACKS IN JOHNSON COUNTY KANSAS, NEAR KANSAS CITY. TALLGR…One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. 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 Johnson City’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 143 and 1,528 people in every census since 1890.
11 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Johnson City’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Another post office, Veteran, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1885, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Johnson City’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1890 counted 143 people here.
Johnson City is more historic than 42% 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.
24% of Johnson City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.2 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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