Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1925 on and old-book passages.
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 Adams Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Adams Township.
Adams Township was created as a result of a county-wide election in November 1872, which subdivided the county into 20 municipal townships corresponding to the county's 20 congressional townships. Adams Township became all of Township 62, Range 27 within Harrison County, consisting of 30 sections.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Adams Township. 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 Adams Township.
Passages that mention Adams Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Mr. Markey came to Missouri in 1859 and settled in Daviess County, where he improved a farm just west of Bancroft. He moved to Adams Township, Harrison County, where he had bought a farm two years previously, in 1880. He now owns 543 acres of land in Adams Township known as the "St. John's Fann." The old St. John's Church originally stood on this place. Mr. Markey has a good house, a good barn, and several stock buildings. The lawn at the front of his house is set with Scotch pines, which make a striking entrance to the house. Mr. Markey
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
P. C. Pule was educated in the Scotland and Harrison County public schools and came to Harrison County when twelve years of age with his parents, who settled in Adams Township. He was reared on his father's farm, and, after finishing school, rented land for a few years, and bought his first farm of 160 acres twelve years ago, in Adams Township. He sold it and bought his present farm of 176 acres, forty acres in Cypress and the remainder in Adams Township. This was formerly the Clint Potter farm. The place has fair improvements, and the entire farm is
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Another post office, Blue Ridge, 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.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
