Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1900.
The Eagle post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Eagle’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: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Eagle’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then grew 4-fold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Eagle’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eagle. 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 Eagle.
From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle.
Eagle was platted in 1886 when the Missouri Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. An early variant name was "Sunlight". The present name is likely for the wild eagles observed by the first settlers.
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 SurveyEagle’s post office has been open since 1869.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Eagle post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Eagle is more historic than 29% 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.
13% of Eagle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), 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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2005