Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1850.
Carrollton dates its founding to 1822 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carrollton is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Carrollton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Carrollton’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carrollton. 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 Carrollton.
Peaked at 2,171 in 1880; 1,214 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carrollton’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Carrollton.
The town was first settled circa 1822. The Town of Carrollton was formed on March 9, 1842, from the town of Great Valley.
In 1877, the community of Limestone set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village. In 2011, this community reverted to being a hamlet within the town because voters agreed to dissolve the village in 2009.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Carrollton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Railroad and probably at the suggestion of or in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton built the Ellicott Mill Station. The very first in America and just beside it erected the stone arch bridge the pioneer of that style of construction in the railroad world. He
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, always foremost in every progressive movement was closely identified with the building of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which runs through the heart of Carrollton Manor. The first station, Lime Kiln, about three miles west of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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
In the archiveAerial view of tower - Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Riverside Junction Interlocking Tower…One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. 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 Carrollton’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Carrollton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
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.
In 1822, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carrollton’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1850 counted 515 people here.
Carrollton is more historic than 64% 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.
28% of Carrollton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1967.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1968
2016
2015
2007
2006