Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Clark County Courthouse, the Montgomery Opera House and the Col. Hiram M. Hiller House. Its Register listings are the Clark County Courthouse, the Montgomery Opera House and the Col. Hiram M. Hiller House. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.
Kahoka dates its founding to 1858 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kahoka is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kahoka’s 14.5 sits above most of its state (76% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Kahoka’s history is told.
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 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Kahoka.
Kahoka was platted in 1858. The city is named for the historic Cahokia tribe of the Illiniwek or Illinois Confederacy, which occupied territory on both sides of the Mississippi River in this area at the time of European encounter.
The Clark County Courthouse, Col. Hiram M. Hiller House, and Montgomery Opera House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWilliam H. Wheat is born here
Born hereE. Richard Webber is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kahoka. 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 Kahoka.
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 704 and 2,241 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kahoka’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Kahoka’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Cahoka, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1858, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kahoka’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 704 people here.
Kahoka is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Three places: the Clark County Courthouse (listed 1983), the Montgomery Opera House (1988) and the Col. Hiram M. Hiller House (1986).
21% of Kahoka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 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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