Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Boonville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.
The Boonville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boonville is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Boonville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina 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 Boonville’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Boonville’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Boonville. 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 Boonville.
From Wikipedia’s history of Boonville.
Boonville was named for Daniel Boone. A post office has been in operation in Boonville since 1857. The town was incorporated by the North Carolina legislature on February 19, 1895.
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 SurveyNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boonville’s page.
Retake this view · +15The Boonville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Boonville is more historic than 22% 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 Boonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (6), 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.
Date?
2024
2020
2004
2004
2004