Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1910.
The Dwight post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lone Star (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
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 Dwight’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dwight. 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 Dwight.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dwight.
Dwight was started in 1887 when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. The fact that a large share of the early settlers were natives of Dwight, Illinois caused the name to be selected.
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 Survey
Born hereAd Liska is born here
BuiltSt. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, School and Grottoes is built
Born hereErnest R. Kouma is born here
In the archiveORNAMENTAL ARCHES ON THIS BANK IN DWIGHT SHOW THE INFLUENCE OF CZECHOSLOVAKIAN SETTLERSOne decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Dwight’s page.
Retake this view · +15The 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.
Peaked at 323 in 1930; 229 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dwight’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Dwight’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Lone Star, 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).
The Dwight post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Two places: the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad Depot (listed 1979) and the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, School and Grottoes (2008).
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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