Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Rocky Boy West was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1984 on.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rocky Boy West is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rocky Boy West’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Rocky Boy West’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rocky Boy West yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rocky Boy West is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hill and Chouteau counties in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, Rocky Boy West had a population of 1,042.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 890 to 1,042 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rocky Boy West.
1984Cowan Reservoir sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rocky Boy West.
Nobody well known was born in Rocky Boy West itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Rocky Boy West is more historic than 19% 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.
7% of Rocky Boy West’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
