Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Gainesville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Its Register listing is the John Conkin and Clara Layton Harlin House. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1880.
Gainesville dates its founding to 1841 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). 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 Gainesville’s history is told.
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 SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Gainesville.
Gainesville was platted in 1841, taking its name from Gainesville, Georgia, the native home of a large share of the early settlers. Gainesville was designated county seat of Ozark County in 1857. A post office called Gainesville has been in operation since 1860.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gainesville. 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 Gainesville.
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 sheet.
1912Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Between 165 and 773 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gainesville’s Wikipedia page.
In 1841, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gainesville’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 165 people here.
One place: the John Conkin and Clara Layton Harlin House (listed 2003).
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), the National Register of Historic Places (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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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