Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1890.
The Royalton post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Royalton is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. 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 Royalton’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: 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 Royalton’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Royalton.
Royalton was platted in 1878, and named after Royalton, Vermont, the native home of a share of the early settlers. Royalton was incorporated in 1887.
Royalton has been a participant with Green Step Cities since its inception in 2010 and became the first municipal building in Minnesota to install solar PV panels with a 7 kW array on the roof of City Hall.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Royalton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
and one old settler made the remark that “the glory had departed from the prairie.” The change was a wise one, however, for the country to the east was rapidly being settled and Royalton was the central point. Until 1886, Royalton had no separate organization, but was a part of the township of Bellevue and was governed as such. The village was incorporated and the following officers elected: President, J. D. Logan; re-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Another early merchant of Royalton who came in the summer of 1880, was Mark Kobe. He erected a building near the depot, and opened a store in the fall.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Royalton. 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 Royalton.
Grew from 582 people in 1890 to 1,281 in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Royalton’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Royalton post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Royalton is more historic than 40% 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.
20% of Royalton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 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, 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), 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.
2022
2018
2013
