Most of Raceland was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1925.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Raceland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raceland is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Raceland’s overall grade.
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 Raceland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1915.
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 →
What stands out about Raceland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Raceland and the land surrounding it were part of a 5,000-acre (20 km2) Revolutionary War grant to Abraham Buford. His son, Charles Buford, divided up the land and sold it in tracts. Eventually, one of the tracts was bequeathed to Benjamen Chinn, who sold his tract in town lots. He gave the town the name "Chinnville". Its first post office was established on March 7, 1910. It became an incorporated city on July 31, 1915.
In 1915, according to Wikidata. Raceland’s post office opened in 1925, and the census of 1930 counted 1,088 people here.
How does Raceland rank for history?
Raceland is more historic than 14% 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.
How old are the homes in Raceland?
9% of Raceland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 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.
