Best Old House Neighborhoods 2011: History Happened Here

For the fourth year in a row, we've tracked down North America's most timeless neighborhoods—places where lovingly crafted old houses have extraordinary pasts and unarguably promising futures. With help from our friends at Portland, Oregon-based PreservationDirectory.com—who distributed our nomination forms to more than 14,000 historical societies, neighborhood groups, and preservation nonprofits—we've assembled our biggest-ever list of off-the-beaten-path places that are worth eyeing for a great old home.

Here are twelve neighborhoods that are just as interesting for their past as they are for their present. From the Civil War to the Gold Rush, these historic settings have some serious roots.