Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Cushing was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1940.
The Cushing post office opened in 1902, 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 Cushing’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cushing.
Cushing was started as a railroad town. The name came from the head foreman of the railroad. Cushing has burned down a total of three times in its long history. It also has a history of being struck by tornadoes, with one of the most recent being an EF2 tornado on March 21, 2022.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cushing. 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 Cushing.
Between 388 and 637 people in every census since 1940.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cushing’s Wikipedia page.
The Cushing post office opened in 1902, 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, 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.
