Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1890.
The Laddonia post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
Laddonia was named for Amos Ladd, an early settler, and his wife, Onia.
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 Laddonia’s history is told.
Peaked at 745 in 1970; 502 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laddonia’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.
1902Sheet 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 Laddonia.
Laddonia was laid out in 1871. It was named for Amos Ladd, an early settler, and his wife, Onia. A post office has been in operation at Laddonia since 1871.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Laddonia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The district stands this way now, excepting the south half of it has been formed into another district, known as district No. 3, and a school established in the town of Laddonia. Lawrence A. Hudson taught the first school in district No. 1, which was a subscription school. It was taught in a cabin, near the present site of Jesse Asher’s house. Hudson was a citizen of Penn¬ sylvania, and a good teacher. A man by the name of Young taught a school about the same time in district No. 2, on the farm now owned
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Francois county, this State, and then in the fall of 1880, took charge of the parish at Mexico. He was afterwards given charge of the parish at Columbia, and likewise holds services at Laddonia. Father Dempsey has been at Mexico for nearly four years, and sufficient time has therefore elapsed to form a fairly accurate estimate of his worth and character as a man and priest.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laddonia. 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 Laddonia.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Laddonia post office opened in 1871, 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 (2), 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, 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.
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