Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Wardsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1970.
The Wardsville post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wardsville is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 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 Wardsville’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: 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 Wardsville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Wardsville.
A post office called Wardsville was established in 1881, and remained in operation until 1933. The village was named after Junius Ward, the original owner of the town site.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wardsville. 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 Wardsville.
Grew from 460 people in 1970 to 1,599 in 2020, 3 times over.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wardsville’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Wardsville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Wardsville had its own post office from 1881 to 1933.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Wardsville post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Wardsville is more historic than 16% 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.
2% of Wardsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
