Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Monument post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Monument’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Monument.
Established sometime in the latter half of the 19th century, it was originally called Monument Station as it served as a stop for the overland stage and for travelers moving westward through Fort Wallace.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Monument, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Monument Selected. I plodded along daily, and had gathered about $85, and had about $40 more on my list by the 21st, day of December, 1908. On that date the monument was selected and ordered from Henry Sahlmann, the Lincoln marble dealer.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monument. 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 Monument.
Nobody well known was born in Monument itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Monument post office opened in 1868, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
