Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1890.
The Essex post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Essex’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Essex’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Essex. 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 Essex.
From Wikipedia’s history of Essex.
Ira M. Lish (1855–1937), Illinois politician and lawyer, was born in Essex.
Unlike earlier underground coal mines exploited by coal miners living in the now lost, nearby settlements of Tracy, Oklahoma and Clarke City, open-pit mines were established near Essex.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Essex, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Although the chief command was intrusfed to the highadmiral and the Earl of Essex, yet the queen, dreading the collision between “ an old head and a young one,” appointed them a council of five, to keep them in due temper and harmony.” These were Lord Thomas Howard, Raleigh, Sir Francis Vere, Sir Conyers Clifford, and Sir George Carew ; a control and division of authority resented by the proud spirit of Essex, but to which a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Of those who were thus offended with the power which Raleigh gained at this time over the queen, none more deeply resented it, or bore it more impatiently, than the Earl of Essex. The following remarkable letter has lately been discovered, which throws much light on this jealousy, and establishes the fact that Elizabeth delighted to see Raleigh and Essex competing for her love.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Hon. Nathan Dane of Beverly, in our county of Essex, and a native of Doctor Cutler’s parish, a lawyer by profession, was a member of Congress at this time. Either through Doctor Cutler’s influence or otherwise, Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Although Elbridge Gerry, a native and resident of Marblehead, in our county of Essex, said that he would give no sanction whatever to the slave trade, yet, in the convention for the ratification of the United States’ constitution,in 1787, of which he was a member, the Massachusetts
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.
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.
The Essex post office opened in 1854, 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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
