Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Laurel was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: old-book passages.
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 Laurel’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Laurel.
The area was originally known as the "Middle Ground" between Southold and Riverhead. Later it was called Franklinville, but relinquished that name for Laurel due to a conflict of names with another Franklinville.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Laurel, cut from the printed page as they were published.
It was a gay party that set out from Laurel Hill on this particular Friday afternoon. Anthony, Elizabeth, and Sarah had stopped at Laurel Hill for Caroline, Charles, and Philip. All the young people were mounted, as Charles' foot was now so fully restored that he could ride with ease. Pollux had now become the property of Caroline, Charles' gift to her, and very happy she \vas in his possession.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
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 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.