Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #148 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
The Windsor post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Windsor is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #148 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 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 Windsor’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 Windsor’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Windsor. 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 Windsor.
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.
1885Sheet 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 Windsor.
Windsor was laid out in 1855, and originally known as Belmont. Its name was changed to Windsor in 1859, after Windsor Castle, in England. A post office called Windsor has been in operation since 1850.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Windsor, cut from the printed page as they were published.
of the City of Windsor to be incorporated and from that date, the town of Windsor ceased to be a village. The trustees appointed by the County Court were as follows : C. C. Morse, J. W. Gray, W. J. Colbow, W. J. Livingston and W. B. Pomeroy.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
towns. However, Urich, Calhoun, Montrose and Deepwater showed slight increases, and Windsor a sharp growth, with Davis, Fairview, Tebo, Whiteoak, Windsor townships being a little larger; though the fact that Fairview and Windsor did not show a loss was due entirely to the fact that Deepwater was included in the limits of Fairview and the growing clay industries and the population attracted thereby in that thriving little city prevented the township from falling off in its population, while the Rock Island railroad and the growth of Windsor accounted for Windsor
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.
Born hereWinfred Joseph Sanborn is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereCharles Stark Draper is born hereBetween 872 and 3,087 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Windsor’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Windsor post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Windsor is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #148 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.
19% of Windsor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1963.
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), 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.
2004