Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1954 on and old-book passages.
The Gibbsville post office opened in 1846, 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 Gibbsville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Gibbsville.
James, John and Benjamin Gibbs settled Gibbsville in 1836. A post office was in operation from 1846 to 1907, and a school was in operation from 1900 to 1977.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Gibbsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
There are no incorporated villages in Lima. The town has two hamlets, however, Gibbsville, the original settlement of the Gibbs bi-others, which is located on the old stage road from Milwaukee to Green Bay. It has general stores, flour mill, cheese factory and shops. Hingham is in the southwest comer of the town and has a flour mill, hotel and stores. There is also a schoolhouse and church located here, both of which are well attended.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gibbsville. 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 Gibbsville.
The Gibbsville post office opened in 1846, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
