Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Cressey was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1916 on and old-book passages.
The Cressey post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cressy (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
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 Cressey’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cressey. 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 Cressey.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cressey.
The Cressy post office opened in 1882, closed in 1883, re-opened in 1909, and changed its name to Cressey in 1912. The town was named by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for Calvin J. Cressey, local landowner.
Cressey has one elementary school (Ballico-Cressey School District, K-2).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Cressey, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In March, 1871, he began to farm his own land some, but worked for Mr. Atwater during the time, but in October, 187 2, he settled down on his own place of 660 acres, having sold a portion. It is two miles south of Cressey Station, on the Southern Pacific Railroad. The county seat is fourteen mile distant. He devotes his farm chiefly to raising wheat, but pays some attention to stock, keeping about forty hogs, eigh Uses, three mules. His house is surrounded by tree, H
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Cressey’s post office has been open since 1912. Another post office, Cressy, 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).
The Cressey post office opened in 1912, 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, 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.
