Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Chalco was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1956 on.
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chalco is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chalco’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Nebraska 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 Chalco’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Chalco.
A post office was established at Chalco in 1888, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1950. The community was likely named after Chalco, in Mexico.
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chalco. 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 Chalco.
Another post office, Challo, 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).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Chalco is among the newest 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.
0.0% of Chalco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2005
