Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Sedalia was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 16 buildings. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 2000.
The Sedalia post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Sedalia’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sedalia.
The Dr. Joseph A. McLean House and Palmer Memorial Institute Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sedalia. 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 Sedalia.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 618 and 676 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sedalia’s Wikipedia page.
The Sedalia post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Two places: the Dr. Joseph A. McLean House (listed 1995) and the Palmer Memorial Institute Historic District (1988).
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
