Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Richlands was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 118 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1933 on.
The Richlands post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richlands is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 Richlands’ 505 sits above most of its state (94% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 118 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From Wikipedia’s history of Richlands.
A post office called Richlands has been in operation since 1806. The town was so named on account of its rich soil.
The Avirett-Stephens Plantation, Richlands Historic District, Taylor Farm, and Venters Farm Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1933EAST REAR - Ashley House, NC 258-24 South of SR 1229
1933EAST REAR - Clarence Brinson House, NC 258-24 South o…
1933EAST REAR - Richard House, NC 258-24 South of SR 1229
1933EAST REAR AND NORTH SIDE - Ashley House, NC 258-24 So…
1933EAST REAR AND NORTH SIDE - Clarence Brinson House, NC…
1933EAST REAR AND NORTH SIDE - Richard House, NC 258-24 S…No 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 Richlands’ page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Richlands post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Richlands is more historic than 76% 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.
Three places: the Venters Farm Historic District (listed 1987), the Richlands Historic District (1990) and the Taylor Farm (1999).
4% of Richlands’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2001.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
