Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #150 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Licking was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1880.
Licking dates its founding to 1826 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Licking is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #150 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Licking’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Licking’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereRichard Howard Ichord, Jr. is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Licking.
The community was named for a mineral lick near the original town site. An early variant name was "Buffalo Lick". Licking experienced growth after the South Central Correctional Center opened in June 2000, which doubled the population from the 2000 Census to the 2010 Census. Also, a small Amish community moved from Berne, Indiana to Licking starting in 2009.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Licking. 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 Licking.
Between 163 and 3,124 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Licking’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1826, according to Wikidata. Licking’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1880 counted 163 people here.
Licking is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #150 of 247 in Missouri. 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.
4% of Licking’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (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.
2004
