Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Benjamin House. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1870.
The Shelbina post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shelbina is more historic than 62% 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 Shelbina’s 6.0 sits above most of its state (67% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Shelbina’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.
1886Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Peaked at 2,174 in 1910; 1,613 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shelbina’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Shelbina.
Shelbina was platted in 1857 when the railroad was extended to that point. The name "Shelbina" is derived from Shelby County. A post office called Shelbina has been in operation since 1858.
The Benjamin House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Shelbina, cut from the printed page as they were published.
completing the curriculum of the district scJiools he was enabled to continue his studies in the public schools of the village of Shelbina, and after completing his school work he assisted his father in the operation and management of the home farm and also in the affairs of the office of sheriff and tax collector. Be-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The bridge over Salt river and the depots at Shelbina and Lakenan were soon rebuilt. Trains ran regularly. The merchants at Shelbina restocked and in the course of time recovered from the shock. They, however, learned a lesson.
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 Shelbina. 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 Shelbina.
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.
The Shelbina post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Shelbina is more historic than 62% 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.
One place: the Benjamin House (listed 1972).
23% of Shelbina’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), 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), 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.
2013
2007
2004
