Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #440 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Mattawan was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1880.
The Mattawan post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mattawan is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #440 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mattawan’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan 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 Mattawan’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mattawan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mattawan is a village in Antwerp Township, Van Buren County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Mattawan had a population of 2,550.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,997 to 2,550 (+28%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mattawan. 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 Mattawan.
Grew from 240 people in 1880 to 2,550 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mattawan’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Mattawan post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Mattawan is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #440 of 701 in Michigan. 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.
5% of Mattawan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2021
2020
2005