Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1920.
The Cotesfield post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
Cotesfield was named for Miss Coates, the travel companion of the daughter of Christopher C. Augur, a Department of the Platte official.
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 Cotesfield’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cotesfield. 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 Cotesfield.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cotesfield.
Although the area was first settled in the 1870s, the town site at Cotesfield was not built up until 1902. It was named for Miss Coates, the travel companion of the daughter of Christopher C. Augur, a Department of the Platte official.
A post office was established at Cotesfield in 1871, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1996.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Between 29 and 214 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cotesfield’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Cotesfield itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Cotesfield post office opened in 1871, 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), 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.
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