Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Taralseth, K.J., Company. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1903 on.
Warren dates its founding to 1879 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1878.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Warren is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls 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 Warren’s 6.0 sits above most of its state (66% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Warren’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Warren.
Warren was platted in 1879, and named for Charles H. Warren, a railroad official. A post office has been in operation at Warren since 1880.
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.
In the archiveAndrew Winberg with brothers and sisters in Warren, Minnesota, ca. 1903One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Warren’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Warren’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Farley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
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 1879, according to Wikidata. Warren’s post office opened in 1878.
Warren is more historic than 60% 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.
One place: the Taralseth, K.J., Company (listed 2002).
21% of Warren’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2001
2001
2001
2001
2001