Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Annville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1980.
The Annville post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1988.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Annville is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Annville’s 84.7 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Annville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Annville.
The town's first post office was opened in 1878, named Chinquapin Rough, for the numerous chinquapin and dwarf chestnut trees found along Pond Creek. In 1886, the post office was renamed Annville for resident Nancy Ann Johnson. Annville was incorporated in 1988 and dissolved in 2000.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Annville. 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 Annville.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 371 people in 1980 to 1,102 in 2020.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Annville’s Wikipedia page.
Annville’s post office has been open since 1886.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Annville post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1988.
Annville is more historic than 29% 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.
One place: the Annville Institute (listed 2012).
0.0% of Annville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1992.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2018
