Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1890.
The Deerfield post office opened in 1856, 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 Deerfield’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Deerfield.
Deerfield was first settled in the 1830s. The town site was platted in 1871, taking its name from Deerfield Township. A post office called Deerfield has been in operation since 1856.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Deerfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The village of Deerfield stands on lot 2, of the northwest quarter of section 7, in Deerfield township, running up the town¬ ship line on the west, and to within a mile of the line on the north, making its location in the northwest corner of the town¬ ship. It is a station on the M., K. & T. railroad, and is a thrifty little burg of something over two hundred inhabitants, with churches and good schools, and well-stocked stores and shops of various kinds.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settlers in this township were Col. George Douglass, who came to the north side of the Marmaton (northeast quarter section 6), a mile northeast of Deerfield, in May, 1834; Abram Redfield and Capt. Alexander Woodruff, who settled near Deer¬ field in 1836; (?) John Chorn, who located near Big Drywood on section 19, two and a half miles south of Deerfield, and Gabriel M. Stratton, who bought out Chorn ’s claim in about 1837 or 1838. Ebenezer C. Howe came in 1839 and settled at Deerfield,
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Deerfield. 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 Deerfield.
Between 40 and 239 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Deerfield’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Deerfield itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Deerfield’s post office has been open since 1856.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Deerfield post office opened in 1856, 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 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 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.
