Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1880.
The Pleasant Plains post office opened in 1843, 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.
Peaked at 1,078 in 1920; 808 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasant Plains’ Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pleasant Plains. 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 Pleasant Plains.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pleasant Plains yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1843. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 802 in 2010, 808 in 2020.
Passages that mention Pleasant Plains, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1887 that farm was sold and Mr. Daniels entered the lumber business, but for the past few years he has been engaged in the egg, poultry and fish business at Pleasant Plains. He can look back with pleasure over his many years of hard work, from the time when the present town of Pleasant Plains was but a mud-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The beautiful little village of Pleasant Plains would hardly be expected to be the scene of a bloody murder On the evening of September 25, 1871, while Mrs, Rhoda Elmore, Anderson Harris, and William Kelly were sitting at the supper table, a knock was heard at the door, and in response to the I'equest, " Come in," Peter L.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Richmond, Tex., for one year and in 1895 went to Houston and later to Sherman, Tex., but finally returned to Kansas City and in 1896 came to Pleasant Plains. In 1898 he was foreman of an extra gang on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and in 1900 went to work for the Western Union Telegraph Company, and during the same year became connected with the Boyn-
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 0 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 1 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…
1933HABS ILL,84-PLEP.V,1- (sheet 2 of 4) - Dr. F. C. Fink…Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1917Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pleasant Plains’ page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Pleasant Plains itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Pleasant Plains post office opened in 1843, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
