Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1869 on and old-book passages.
The Hancock post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From Wikipedia’s history of Hancock.
This town was established in 1806 from part of the town of Colchester. It is named for John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of the Independence.
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 hereHenry Bidleman Bascom is born here
In the archiveHancock (Village); Hancock (Township)
Born hereEddie Murphy is born here
In the archiveAerial view of freight house (long one-story building with a gable roof, on the track sid…
In the archiveKandyland ice cream sign, Front StreetPassages that mention Hancock, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History, of Hancock County, publislied in 1884, has the following to say in regard to the early settlement of the county: ''Years ago the public lands embraced by the present limits of Hancock County were thrown into the market and sold, the purchasers being generally men of extensive means who obtained the lands in large tracts for speculative purposes. Consequently, since the organization of the county, it has had no public lands, if we except the sixteenth sections for school purposes, and the swamp land grant, which the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and delivered to Hancock County, Iowa, a deed to the following described real estate, to wit: "Block No. Twelve (12), of Tallman's Addition to the town of Garner, Hancock County, Iowa, as a gift to said county for certain prescribed purposes, which deed is recorded in the records of Hancock County, Iowa, in Book 10 of deeds on page 575, and whereas circumstances have up until this time prevented said Hancock County, Iowa, from taking possession and occupying said premises for the purposes
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
This name has long been a famihar one in Hancock county, and its representatives, commencing in pioneer days, have at every period since their settlement been influential in connection with the general development. David and Fannie Roberts, whose births occurred in Fairfield county, Ohio, about the closing of the first decade of the nineteenth century, came shortly after their marriage to Hancock county, where they located on forty acres of land in Big Lick township. The warrant for this land was signed by no less a person than General Andrew Jackson, better known as "Old Hickoiy," who
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
We quote from the record : " WhereaSy It has been shown to the full satisfaction of the County Commissioners of Hancock county, Indiana, by competent and sufficient evidence, that on the night of the 12th of January, 1866, the Treasurer's office of this, Hancock county, was feloniously entered, the iron safe broken open and a large sum of money stolen therefrom, of which five thousand dollars was money belonging to Hancock county, the same having been
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.
3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1980s. 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 Hancock’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Hancock post office opened in 1815, 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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.
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