Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 331 buildings. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1830.
Stark dates its founding to 1828 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Four other post offices 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).
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stark’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Stark.
Settlement took place before 1775, but many residents departed during the Revolutionary War. The town was established from part of the town of Danube in 1828.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Stark, cut from the printed page as they were published.
to which time it was a part of the town of Minden, Montgomery county; but it was settled almost as early as any part of Herkimer county. Previous to March 18, i82S,it embraced what is now the town of Stark. It is bounded on the north by the Mohawk River ; on the east by the town of Minden, Montgomery county ; on the south by Stark, and on tlie west by Little Falls. Along its northern border are the river flats, but the central and southern parts are hilly, rising from 400 to 800 feet above the Mohawk, and broken by ravines on both sides of Nowa-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Stark is somewhat noted for its unusual natural features. Its surface is hilly and broken and the Otsquago Creek flows between high banks across the town in a northeasterly direction. It has its headwaters in the vicinity of Van Hornesville, 940 feet above the Mohawk at Fort Plain, where it empties into that river. This great fall has in past years furnished excellent water-power for many mills of various kinds. Marble of fair quality has been quarried near Smith's Corners, in the northern part. There are several important springs in
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.
Born hereDelina Filkins is born here
Born hereRay V. Pierce is born here
Born hereOwen D. Young is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stark. 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 Stark.
Between 739 and 1,781 people in every census since 1830.
19 censuses, 1830–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stark’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1828, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Stark’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1830 counted 1,781 people here.
Two places: the Lindesay Patent Rural Historic District (listed 1995) and the Case, James H., III and Laura Rockefeller Case, House (2019).
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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.
