Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Kendall was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 2000.
Kendall dates its founding to 1887 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.
Kendall was named for the first homesteader in the area, Carthage Kendall, a West Virginian who settled there in 1884.
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 Kendall’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kendall. 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 Kendall.
From Wikipedia’s history of Kendall.
Kendall was founded in 1887 by F.B. Hardmen. It was named for the first homesteader in the area, Carthage Kendall, a West Virginian who settled there in 1884.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyGrew from 158 people in 2000 to 769 in 2020, 4 times over.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kendall’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Kendall itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Kendall had its own post office from 1902 to 1926. Another post office, Keese, opened and closed inside today’s town.
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.
In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kendall’s post office opened in 1890, and the census of 2000 counted 158 people here.
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 (1), 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.
2009
