Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1920.
The Commerce post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1918.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Commerce is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Commerce’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Commerce’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Commerce. 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 Commerce.
From Wikipedia’s history of Commerce.
What became Commerce was land that was part of the Quapaw Indian Agency, allocated in the late 1830s. The Quapaw were removed to the area in the 1830s by the federal government after residing for hundreds of years on the west side of the Mississippi River in what later entered the union as the state of Arkansas.
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.
Between 2,271 and 2,645 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Commerce’s Wikipedia page.
The Commerce post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1918.
Commerce is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
11% of Commerce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1962.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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