Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the William P. Hall House. Its Register listing is the William P. Hall House. Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 1870.
The Lancaster post office opened in 1846, 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 Lancaster’s history is told.
Peaked at 980 in 1900; 675 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lancaster’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereIsabel Richey is born here
Born hereRupert Hughes is born here
Born hereHi Simmons is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Lancaster.
A post office called Lancaster has been in operation since 1846. According to one tradition, the community was named after Lancaster, Ohio, the former home of a first settler.
The William P. Hall House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lancaster. 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 Lancaster.
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.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Lancaster post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the William P. Hall House (listed 1975).
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.
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