Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1900.
The La Harpe post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
La Harpe was named after La Harpe, Illinois and they both commemorate a prominent French explorer of the southern Great Plains of North America, Bernard de la Harpe
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 La Harpe’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of La Harpe. 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 La Harpe.
Peaked at 2,080 in 1910; 480 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on La Harpe’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of La Harpe.
La Harpe was founded by the Fort Scott, Wichita & Western Railroad company (later the Missouri Pacific), and was platted in 1881. It was named after La Harpe, Illinois and they both commemorate a prominent French explorer of the southern Great Plains of North America, Bernard de la Harpe
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
Born hereAd Brennan is born hereFire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1906Sheet 1 of 7Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The La Harpe post office opened in 1881, 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 (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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