Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1890.
The Reynolds post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rose Creek (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Reynolds was named for the father of a railroad conductor.
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 Reynolds’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Reynolds.
Reynolds was platted in 1880 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for the father of a railroad conductor.
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.
Born hereEddie Hickey is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Reynolds. 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 Reynolds.
Between 57 and 271 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Reynolds’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Reynolds’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Rose Creek, 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 Reynolds post office opened in 1880, 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 (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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