Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1910.
The Comstock post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name.
Comstock was named for W. H. Comstock, a storekeeper.
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 Comstock’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Comstock.
Comstock was established in 1899 as a water stop on a new railroad line. It was named for W. H. Comstock, a storekeeper.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 450 in 1920; 68 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Comstock’s Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Comstock, cut from the printed page as they were published.
When the railroad was built up the Middle Loup valley, Wescott was not in line. The road went on the other side of the river and the town of Comstock was located just north of the river. Wescott could not survive the sh6ck.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and Mr. Mickle. located at Wescott. He operated that mill until the railroad, passing on the east side of the river, brought into prominence the town of Comstock and practically eliminated the town of ^^'escott, so Mr. Ellersick wisely changed the location of his mill, in 1907, to Comstock, where it has since flourished, with a constantly increasing business.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Comstock. 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 Comstock.
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 Comstock’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Comstock itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Comstock’s post office has been open since 1899.
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.
The Comstock post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1980
2010
2005
