Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
Heath dates its founding to 1765 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.
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 Heath’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Heath. 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 Heath.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.
19 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Heath’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Heath.
Heath was first settled in 1765 as a part of Charlemont. The town, as well as neighboring Rowe, separated, and Heath was officially incorporated in 1785, just a few days after its new neighbor. The town is named after William Heath, Major General of Massachusetts and Brigadier General in the national army during the American Revolution.
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.
Born hereJackson Temple is born here
Born hereFrank E. Howe is born here
In the archive1871 Atlas of Franklin County Massachusetts, by Louis E. Neumann, publisher F.W. Beers & …
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Heath - DPLA - c56991bc90fa5bb0141bd0d7c302c8852 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Heath’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Heath’s post office has been open since 1816. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
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.
In 1765, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Heath’s post office opened in 1816, and the first U.S. census counted 379 people here in 1790.
One place: the Heath Center Historic District (listed 2017).
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 (10), 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) 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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