Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1830.
The Burnham post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Burnham Village (1835) and Winnecook (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burnham is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Burnham’s 42.0 sits above most of its state (72% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 Burnham’s history is told.
Burnham had its own post office from 1830 to 1841. 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).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltSpringdale Farm is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Burnham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Burnham is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,096 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1830. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,164 to 1,096 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burnham. 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 Burnham.
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 409 and 1,164 people in every census since 1830.
20 censuses, 1830–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burnham’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Burnham post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Burnham is more historic than 75% 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.
One place: the Springdale Farm (listed 2000).
11% of Burnham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine 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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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