Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #38 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Lovington was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1920.
The Lovington post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lovington is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Lovington’s 4.3 sits above most of its state (66% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 Lovington’s history is told.
The 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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lovington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lovington is a city in and the county seat of Lea County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lovington had a population of 11,668.
Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,009 to 11,668 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltLea County Courthouse is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lovington. 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 Lovington.
Grew from 411 people in 1920 to 11,668 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lovington’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Lovington’s post office has been open since 1908.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Lovington post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Lovington is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #38 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.
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Lea County Courthouse (listed 1987, the first).
3% of Lovington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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