Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #193 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Algona was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1960.
The Algona post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1955.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Algona is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #193 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Algona’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Algona’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Algona.
The community was originally called "Algoma". (A recording error by postal officials accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected.)
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Algona. 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 Algona.
Grew from 1,311 people in 1960 to 3,290 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Algona’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Algona itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Algona had its own post office from 1909 to 1958.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Algona post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1955.
Algona is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #193 of 285 in Washington. 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.
9% of Algona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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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