Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 28 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1880.
Appleton City dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Appleton City is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Appleton City’s 229 sits above most of its state (95% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 Appleton City’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Appleton City. 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 Appleton City.
The 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.
From Wikipedia’s history of Appleton City.
Appleton City was originally called Arlington, and under the latter name was platted in 1870. The present name is after D.S. Appleton (1824–1890) of the D. Appleton & Company, who contributed a $500 library to the city.
The Hudson City School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
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.
Born hereIvah Wills Coburn is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyNo 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 Appleton City’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,018 and 1,314 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Appleton City’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1870, according to Wikidata. Appleton City’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 1,034 people here.
Appleton City is more historic than 67% 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 Appleton City Downtown Commercial District (listed 2019).
13% of Appleton City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.
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