Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #149 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1920.
Dilworth dates its founding to 1883 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.
Dilworth was named for Joseph Dilworth, a railroad official.
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dilworth is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #149 of 273 in Minnesota. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dilworth’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Dilworth’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dilworth.
Dilworth was founded in 1883 when the Northern Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Joseph Dilworth, a railroad official.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveBeyen's MotelOne decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dilworth. 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 Dilworth.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dilworth’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 882 people in 1920 to 4,612 in 2020, 5 times over.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dilworth’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Dilworth itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Dilworth’s post office has been open since 1907.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dilworth’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1920 counted 882 people here.
Dilworth is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #149 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
16% of Dilworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1987.
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), 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.
1980
2005