Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Altamont was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1960.
The Altamont post office opened in 1953, 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 Altamont’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Altamont.
A contest was held to name the school, and the winner was 10th-grade-boy Clarence Snyder. He created the portmanteau of Altamont, combining the names of the nearby villages of Altonah and Mount Emmons.
The community grew gradually and, in May 1953, petitioned to incorporate as a town in 1953.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Altamont. 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 Altamont.
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 Altamont’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 102 and 247 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Altamont’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Altamont itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Altamont post office opened in 1953, 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 the Library of Congress (3), 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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