Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #234 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Riva was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 2000.
The Riva post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Riverview (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Riva is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #234 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls 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 Riva’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 Riva’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Riva. 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 Riva.
Riva’s post office has been open since 1925. Another post office, Riverview, 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).
From Wikipedia’s history of Riva.
Aisquith Farm E Archeological Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
There have been several large developments made in Riva over the years.
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.
Between 3,966 and 4,257 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Riva’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Riva itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Riva post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Riva is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #234 of 261 in Maryland. 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.
3% of Riva’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (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.
2015