Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Metcalfe County Kentucky Courthouse, the Metcalfe County Jail and the Stockton-Ray House. Most of Edmonton was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1860.
Edmonton dates its founding to 1818 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edmonton is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its age holds 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 Edmonton’s 12.9 sits near the middle of its state (41% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Edmonton’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Edmonton.
The area was first surveyed in 1800. The city was established by the Kentucky legislature as a trading post in 1818 and was named the county seat in 1860. The post office first opened on February 18, 1830, and was named (though incorrectly spelled) for Edmund Rogers.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
2014William Henry Newman historical marker
2014Stockton east from Main in
2014Old Metcalfe County Jail
2014New Metcalfe County Courthouse
2014Main south from Stockton in
2014Main north from Stockton in
2014Founder of Edmonton historical marker
2014County Named, 1860 historical marker
2007Metcalfe County Kentucky courthouse
2004KYMap-doton-EdmontonEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Edmonton. 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 Edmonton.
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 70 people in 1860 to 1,671 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Edmonton’s Wikipedia page.
In 1818, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Edmonton’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1860 counted 70 people here.
Edmonton is more historic than 52% 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 Metcalfe County Kentucky Courthouse (listed 2000), the Metcalfe County Jail (2004) and the Stockton-Ray House (1992).
3% of Edmonton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1979.
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), 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) 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.
