Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1940.
The Highlandville post office opened in 1872, 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 Highlandville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Highlandville. 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 Highlandville.
From Wikipedia’s history of Highlandville.
A post office called Highlandville has been in operation since 1872. The city was named on account of its lofty elevation.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Grew from 76 people in 1940 to 963 in 2020, more than tenfold.
4 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Highlandville’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Highlandville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Highlandville post office opened in 1872, 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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2020