Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.
Calhoun dates its founding to 1837 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
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 Calhoun’s history is told.
Peaked at 698 in 1890; 392 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Calhoun’s Wikipedia page.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Calhoun.
Calhoun was platted in 1837. The town was named after John C. Calhoun, seventh Vice President of the United States. A post office called Calhoun has been in operation since 1844.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Calhoun, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ing upon the records of the County Court under date of the 10th of February, is as follows: "Whereas, a petition was this day presented to the court signed by sundry citizens of the town of Calhoun, in the County of Henry, praying to have the said town incorporated and setting forth the metes and bounds thereof, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the court that two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants of said town have signed said petition, and also that the prayer in said petition is reasonable, it is there-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
tlement activity. As was also stated in another chapter, the town of Calhoun was laid out by Mr. Nash, in 1835. The first tavern license was granted in November, 1845, to John Taylor, who paid twenty dollars for the privilege. Mathew Arbuckle, in February, 1846, received a license to open a saloon in Calhoun; in August, 1844, was held the first election in the town of Calhoun.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the .Methodist Ep. Church at Lewis and from that time on to the the present I have tried, to the best of my ability, to do my part to help someone to a better life and to advance the Kingdom of God in the world. After moving to Calhoun in 1902, I joined the Presbyterian church. I will stop my narrative just long enough to give you my reasons for changing my church relationship when I moved to Calhoun. I made it a point to attend all the churches :n town for a year or more. It appeared to me that the Presby¬
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Calhoun. 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 Calhoun.
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 Calhoun’s page.
Retake this view · +15In 1837, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Calhoun’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1880 counted 492 people here.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
Date?
2004