Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #56 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Edgewood was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 2000.
The Edgewood post office opened in 1936, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Venus (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgewood is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #56 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Edgewood’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico 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 Edgewood’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Edgewood.
Homesteaders moving into the American West created the initial settlements that grew into what is now the town of Edgewood. Taking advantage of the federal Homestead Acts, pioneer families obtained land claims and began farming and ranching in the Edgewood area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Edgewood. 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 Edgewood.
Grew from 1,893 people in 2000 to 6,174 in 2020, 3 times over.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Edgewood’s Wikipedia page.
Edgewood’s post office has been open since 1936. Another post office, Venus, 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).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Edgewood post office opened in 1936, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Edgewood is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #56 of 73 in New Mexico. 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.
2% of Edgewood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1997.
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, 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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