Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1880.
The Blue Mountain post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lowrey (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
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 Blue Mountain’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Blue Mountain.
Blue Mountain is rooted in the community that developed around Blue Mountain Christian University, which was founded in 1873. The Town of Blue Mountain was incorporated in 1877. The name refers to the blueish morning hue of the surrounding hills.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blue Mountain. 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 Blue Mountain.
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.
Grew from 156 people in 1880 to 948 in 2020, 6 times over.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blue Mountain’s Wikipedia page.
Blue Mountain’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Lowrey, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Blue Mountain post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Blue Mountain College Historic District (listed 1979).
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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