Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Balaton post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.
Balaton was named after Lake Balaton, in Hungary.
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 Balaton’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Balaton.
Balaton was platted in 1879 by the railroad. It was named after Lake Balaton, in Hungary. A post office has been in operation at Balaton since 1879. Balaton was incorporated in 1892.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Balaton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Balaton was founded in 1879 as a result of the building of the Dakota Central railroad. The rails were laid so far as Lake Yankton in August, but before that date and before the station was located the first business house was established. David Bell, who had been in business at Amiret, sold out in May
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
came together and each took as a homestead a quarter of section 22, Rock Lake township, adjoining the present platted village of Balaton. Of these brothers, Lucius still lives on the homestead, Julius is dead, and Ralph lives at Rockford, Illinois.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Balaton post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
