Anchorage’s post office opened in 1872, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #57 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
33 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1880.
The Anchorage post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1878. Another post office, Hobb's Station (1865), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 967 in 18802020 census: 2,500154 years
How historic is Anchorage?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Anchorage post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Anchorage’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Anchorage is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #57 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Anchorage’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Anchorage’s 172 sits above most of its state (78% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1878 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
What stands out about Anchorage’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land that is now Anchorage was a part of Isaac Hite's 1773 land grant, which awarded most of the land in today's Jefferson County to officers in the Virginia militia, in exchange for their service in the French and Indian War. Early maps refer to the area as "Hite's Mill", and it has also been known as "Hobbs Station". Part of Hite's original grant now makes up the grounds of Central State Hospital and E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Anchorage post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1878.
How does Anchorage rank for history?
Anchorage is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #57 of 142 in Kentucky. 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.
What is on the National Register in Anchorage?
33 listings: 32 buildings, among them the Hite-Foree Log House (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Anchorage Historic District,. 43 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Anchorage?
15% of Anchorage’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (33), 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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