Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1960.
The Silver Grove post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Silver Grove is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age 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 Silver Grove’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.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Silver Grove’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Silver Grove. 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 Silver Grove.
From Wikipedia’s history of Silver Grove.
Silver Grove is a railroad town founded in 1911 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In 1914, a newspaper described it as a modern town, because it boasted electric lights, an urban water and sewer system, a modernized fire department, a school, and a spacious park. In 1948, C&O wanted out of the city. In 1951, Gerald Losey was selected as the first mayor.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Between 1,102 and 1,365 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Silver Grove’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Silver Grove itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Silver Grove’s post office has been open since 1913.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Silver Grove post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Silver Grove is more historic than 36% 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.
46% of Silver Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±19.3 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1945.
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 (2), 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.
2019
2019
