Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Chataignier was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1980.
Chataignier dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.
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 Chataignier’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Chataignier.
The name Chataignier is French and means "chinquapin," a small chestnut. Chinquapins (Castanea pumila) grew abundantly in the surrounding prairie until the chestnut blight wiped them out. They are now non-existent in the Chataignier community.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chataignier. 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 Chataignier.
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 sheet.
1922Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 259 and 431 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chataignier’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Chataignier itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1856, according to Wikidata. Chataignier’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1980 counted 431 people here.
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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2004
