Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Ackerly was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1970.
Ackerly dates its founding to 1923 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.
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 Ackerly’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ackerly.
The town was established in 1923 and named for the town founder Paul Ackerly. In 1995, a local discovered the Ackerly meteorite while plowing his cotton field.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ackerly. 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 Ackerly.
Between 220 and 348 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ackerly’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Ackerly itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1923, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ackerly’s post office opened in 1924, and the census of 1970 counted 348 people here.
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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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