Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Renegomezphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of D'Hanis was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: maps from 1956 on.
The D'Hanis post office opened in 1854, 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 D'Hanis’s history is told.
The 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.
From Wikipedia’s history of D'Hanis.
D'Hanis is named for Count von D'Hanis, who founded the town about 1845. D'Hanis was settled by 29 Alsatian families from present-day France and Germany. Many residents spoke Alsatian and German, however, some Alsatians were ethnic Germans who clung to the German culture, language, and traditions. D'Hanis was one of several towns that Henri Castro founded.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of D'Hanis. 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 D'Hanis.
Nobody well known was born in D'Hanis itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The D'Hanis post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the D'Hanis Historic District (listed 1976).
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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