Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Emerson was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.
Emerson first appears in the census in 1880.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Emerson is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Emerson’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Emerson’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Emerson.
An early variant name was "Stegall's Station". Emerson was incorporated in 1889, and named for Joseph Emerson Brown, the 42nd Governor of Georgia.
In 2022, the mayor of Emerson, Al Pallone, and his wife, were killed in a vehicular accident involving a drunk driver.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
2015Emerson Georgia City Hall
2015Emerson City Hall
2014Int75sRoad-MM283-TwoVipers
2013Emerson, GA, USA
2013Emerson, GA, USA - panoramio (3)
2013Emerson, GA, USA - panoramio (2)
2013Emerson, GA, USA - panoramio (1)
2009FEMA - 42264 - FEMA Community Relations Outreach in B…
2009FEMA - 42221 - Community Relations Outreach in Bartow…
2009FEMA - 42220 - Community Relations Outreach in Bartow…
2009FEMA - 42219 - Community Relations Outreach in Bartow…
2005GAMap-doton-EmersonEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Emerson. 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 Emerson.
Between 200 and 1,527 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Emerson’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Emerson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Emerson’s post office has been open since 1888.
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.
The Emerson post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Emerson is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
8% of Emerson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1979.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
