Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1920.
The Avondale post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Avondale’s history is told.
Peaked at 663 in 1960; 436 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avondale’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Avondale.
A post office called Avondale was established in 1915. The city was named after the River Avon, in England.
Avondale is the birthplace of World War Two hero Carl Beck. Carl served in the 101st Airborne at Normandy and at Bastogne.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Avondale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
and was engaged in farming for some time. He then went to McPherson County, Kansas, remaining there about twelve years. In 1912, he came to Clay County and for the past three years has been engaged in the general mercantile business at Avondale. The postoffice is located in his store and he has served as postmaster here since 1914. The Avondale postoffice was established in 1913 and Robert Patterson was the first postmaster. He was succeeded the following year by Mr. Steenstry.
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 Avondale. 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 Avondale.
Avondale had its own post office from 1915 to 1982.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Avondale post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.
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