Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings.
The New Castle post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1817.
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 New Castle’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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWilliam Thomasson is born here
Born hereWilliam J. Graves is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of New Castle.
The District Grand Lodge No. 19 of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization of African Americans, was in New Castle. The group's Washington Lodge #1513 in New Castle was established in 1872 by former slaves. A historical marker by its building commemorates its history.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The New Castle post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1817.
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Henry County Courthouse, Jail, and Warden's House (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the New Castle Historic Commercial District, with 30 contributing buildings. 34 historic buildings in all.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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