Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1984 on and the census since 1880.
The Gratiot post office opened in 1842, 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 Gratiot’s history is told.
Peaked at 368 in 1910; 224 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gratiot’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereAbner Dalrymple is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Gratiot.
The village was named after Henry Gratiot, a French-American trader and Indian Agent. The post office was opened in the community by the first postmaster, Fortunatus Berry, in July 1834.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Gratiot, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first merchant offering proposals for the patronage of the people, was Henry Gratiot, who started a store at Gratiot's Grove in 1829. This proved to be the foundation of the Gratiot's Grove Village, which is remembered as a thriving municipality, with two hotels, a nuaiber of stores and private residences, and a population of 100 souls. At this time the village of Gratiot's Grove was recognized as the most important depot for the arrival of stages between Galena and Chicago. The village being at its zenith between 1835 and 1840, scarcely a day passed but what it was made the recipient of settlers, prospectors, visitors and adventurers. Gratiot's Grove has, however, outlived its usefulness, and has long since decayed.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In all probability, the first claim was laid by Henry Gratiot, who located at the lead mines of Illinois in 1823, probably, and came thence to the Grove in 1824. From that point, early in 1828, he came into this town accompanied by John Curtis, and located the Wolf River mill privilege and the land in the vicinity, where the village of Gratiot now stands, on Section 9. Mr.
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.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gratiot.
1984Dubuque North sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gratiot.
The Gratiot post office opened in 1842, 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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.