Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 52 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1920.
Cumberland dates its founding to 1826 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cumberland is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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 Cumberland’s 255 sits above most of its state (85% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 52 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cumberland’s history is told.
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.
Peaked at 4,271 in 1960; 1,947 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cumberland’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cumberland.
Cumberland was settled in 1837 and named "Poor Fork", for its location on a fork of the Cumberland River with relatively poor soil. It remained isolated until the coal mining boom of the 1900s when railroads connected it with surrounding towns. It was renamed "Cumberland" in 1926.
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.
In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Harlan County - Cumberland - ED 4…
Born hereBetty Siegel is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne 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 Cumberland. 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 Cumberland.
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 Cumberland’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Cumberland’s post office has been open since 1926.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1826, according to Wikidata. Cumberland’s post office opened in 1926, and the census of 1920 counted 300 people here.
Cumberland is more historic than 85% 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 Cumberland Central Business District (listed 1996).
14% of Cumberland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (10), Wikidata (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.
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