Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Lake Quivira was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1980.
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Quivira is more historic than 20% 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 Lake Quivira’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: our sources. 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 Lake Quivira’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Quivira.
Lake Quivira had its start in the 1920s when the developer Charles E. Gault and others set out to construct a subdivision on an artificial lake.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Quivira. 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 Lake Quivira.
Between 906 and 1,087 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Quivira’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Lake Quivira itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Lake Quivira is more historic than 20% 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.
7% of Lake Quivira’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (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.
2004
