Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 92 buildings. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1830.
The Sharpsburg post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1825.
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 Sharpsburg’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 516 in 1890; 365 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1830–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sharpsburg’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sharpsburg.
Revolutionary War veteran Moses Sharp settled in the area in 1780 and laid out the town of Bloomfield on his land in 1814. After his death in 1820, the town received its first post office; since "Bloomfield" was preempted by another community, the postmaster named his station after Sharp, and the town was established and incorporated under this new name.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sharpsburg. 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 Sharpsburg.
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.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Sharpsburg post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1825.
One place: the Sharpsburg Historic District (listed 2024).
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 (4), 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), 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.
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