Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Matt Gardner House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1880.
Elkton dates its founding to 1808 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
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 Elkton’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltMatt Gardner House is built
In the archiveElkton, Tennessee, 1909
Born hereJohn B. Calhoun is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elkton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elkton is a city in Giles County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Elkton had a population of 545.
Elkton was established in 1808. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 578 to 545 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elkton. 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 Elkton.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elkton’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 87 and 578 people in every census since 1880.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elkton’s Wikipedia page.
In 1808, according to Wikidata. Elkton’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1880 counted 87 people here.
One place: the Matt Gardner House (listed 1995).
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 (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
