Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1995 on.
The Cochrane post office opened in 1887, 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 Cochrane’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cochrane.
Cochrane began in 1885 as a settlement along the railroad and was initially named St. Petersburg. After a railroad conductor was injured in the town, it was renamed Cochrane in his honor. The village was officially incorporated in 1910.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nobody well known was born in Cochrane itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Cochrane post office opened in 1887, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.
1995
1995
2009
2009
2009
2004
