Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Thurston 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 Thurston’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Thurston.
Thurston was originally called Bush City, and under the latter name was laid out in 1881. A post office called Thurston has been in operation since 1881.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Thurston, cut from the printed page as they were published.
New Salem Station is three-quarters of a mile north of New Salem village and is on the Zanesville and Western, a railroad from Thurston to Zanesville. There are three churches in New Salem : The Methodist Episcopal, over which Rev.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
THURSTON Thurston was laid out in 1881 by George W. Bush. It is situated at the junction of the Toledo and Columbus divisions of the Toledo and Ohio Central R. R. It was first called Bush City, in honor of its founder; later the officials of the railroad changed it to Hadley Junction and still
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.
Nobody well known was born in Thurston itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Thurston’s post office has been open since 1881.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Thurston 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.
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