Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1933 on.
Sylvan dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1855.
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 Sylvan’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sylvan.
The first settlement in what became the town of Sylvan took place in 1853. The next year Sylvan was detached from the town of Forest, and in April 1855 the newly organized town held its first election, at which thirty-two votes were cast.
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 SurveyWeddings 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 Sylvan. 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 Sylvan.
Nobody well known was born in Sylvan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Sylvan had its own post office from 1855 to 1921. Another post office, Sabin, 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 1853, according to Wikidata. Sylvan’s post office opened in 1855.
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, 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.
