Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Brecon was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1904 on and old-book passages.
The Brecon post office opened in 1881, 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brecon’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Brecon. 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 Brecon.
From Wikipedia’s history of Brecon.
Brecon was a depot on the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway. In 1894, it was described as a village of 50 inhabitants with a store, school and church.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Brecon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Brecon is a post-village and station on the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern railway, fifteen miles from Cincinnati. The first improvements at this point were made by Thomas Stewart, who opened the first store and was the first postmaster.
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.
Nobody well known was born in Brecon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Brecon post office opened in 1881, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
