Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Humboldt post office opened in 1889, 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 Humboldt’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Humboldt.
The first settlement at Humboldt was made in 1877. The town was named from its location in Humboldt Township. A post office called Humboldt has been in operation since 1889.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Humboldt, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Amongthe first settlers in Humboldt was Nicholas Beck, who came there in 1877, and duringthe year following-, Michael Plvnn, Henry Mundt and several others located there. The first school house was built in the fall of 1879 on the northeast quarter of section 11, and the followingwinter the first school in the township was taught in this school house by Adelbert Oaks.
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 hereKarl Mundt is born here
Born hereLarry Pressler is born hereWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Humboldt post office opened in 1889, 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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
