Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 6% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Rancho Alegre was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 6% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rancho Alegre is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rancho Alegre’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Rancho Alegre’s history is told.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rancho Alegre. 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 Rancho Alegre.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rancho Alegre yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,704 to 1,415 (-17%).
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 1,415 and 1,775 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rancho Alegre’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Rancho Alegre is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
0.0% of Rancho Alegre’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1970.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
