Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1880.
Nortonville was named for L. Norton, Jr., a railroad employee.
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 Nortonville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Nortonville.
Nortonville was platted in 1873. It was named for L. Norton, Jr., a railroad employee. The first post office in Nortonville was established in May 1873.
In the 1900s, Nortonville was reported to be one of three sundown towns in the state, where African Americans were not allowed to reside.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nortonville. 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 Nortonville.
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 Nortonville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 350 and 727 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nortonville’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Nortonville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
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 (3), 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.
1880
2026
2004