Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Fenton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the Silas J. Fenton House. Its Register listing is the Silas J. Fenton House. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1960.
The Fenton post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Fenton’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fenton.
Fenton has received notoriety because of the village's use of the police department to write speeding tickets. Fines and forfeitures account for funding 92% of the village's budget, the highest rate in Louisiana.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fenton. 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 Fenton.
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.
Between 226 and 491 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fenton’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Fenton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Fenton post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Silas J. Fenton House (listed 1994).
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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