Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Sunfish Lake was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1960.
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 Sunfish Lake’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sunfish Lake. 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 Sunfish Lake.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sunfish Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 521 in 2010, 522 in 2020.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Grew from 181 people in 1960 to 522 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sunfish Lake’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Sunfish Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
