Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Dunkirk was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1892 on.
The Dunkirk post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunkirk is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dunkirk’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland 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 Dunkirk’s history is told.
Dunkirk’s post office has been open since 1842.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dunkirk. 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 Dunkirk.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dunkirk yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dunkirk is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,521 at the 2010 census. It is the northernmost community in Calvert County and is the main commerce area for northern Calvert County.
Its first post office opened in 1842.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Dunkirk post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Dunkirk is more historic than 39% 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.
6% of Dunkirk’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
