Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Cave City was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 34 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1870.
The Cave City post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cave City is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age 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 Cave City’s 128 sits above most of its state (73% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 35 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 Cave City’s history is told.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1901Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cave City.
The site upon which Cave City stands was acquired in October 1853 by the Knob City Land Company, composed of Messrs. Graham, Quigly, Adams, and Hopson, all of whom were from Louisville and envisioned the place as a resort town due to its proximity to Mammoth Cave. The town was incorporated in 1866.
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cave City. 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 Cave City.
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 Cave City’s page.
Retake this view · +15The 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 387 people in 1870 to 2,356 in 2020, 6 times over.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cave City’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Cave City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Cave City post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Cave City is more historic than 56% 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.
Three places: the Cave City Commercial District (listed 1983), the Andrew McCoy House (1983) and the Wigwam Village No. 2 (1988).
9% of Cave City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1930
c. 1930
2005
2005
2005
