Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1900.
Meservey dates its founding to 1886 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.
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 Meservey’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Meservey.
Meservey was founded in 1886, shortly after a railroad line was built connecting Mason City and Fort Dodge. It takes its name from the Meservey brothers, who were railroad employees at this time. The western portion of town was originally known as Kausville, and eventually merged into Meservey, and is still legally known as the "Kausville Addition".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 354 in 1970; 222 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Meservey’s Wikipedia page.
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Meservey. 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 Meservey.
Nobody well known was born in Meservey itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1886, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Meservey’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1900 counted 193 people here.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.
2018
2004