Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1880.
The Lynn post office opened in 1838, 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 Lynn’s history is told.
Peaked at 1,360 in 1970; 954 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lynn’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lynn.
A post office was established at Lynn in 1838. The town plat was recorded in 1850.
On March 10, 1986, an F3 tornado struck the town, causing considerable damage to several homes. This tornado was part of a larger tornado outbreak. Despite the damage, however, there were no injuries reported.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Lynn, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In answer whereunto is humbly offered as follows : That by their said prayer, it does not appear the lands petitioned for, or any part thereof, were disposed of to the inhabitants of Lynn, nor that the said town of Lynn was incorporated in the year 1635, nor at any time since, and so not endowed with a power of receiving or disposing such lands.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the inhabitants of Lynn, on the 20th of May, 30S9, to consider of the signiiication abovesaid, and to di*aw up what grievancea and burdens we have sustained by the late government, &c., do declare, viz. limt this poor town of Lynn have sustained great wi-ong and damage by the said late government ; in that our orderly, honest, and just rights, in a tract of land within the bounds of Lynn, called Nahants, that hath been enjoyed, possessed, built upon, and improved, by fencing, planting, and pasturing, &c., l3y the to^vnship of Lynn, well onward to sixty years ; and yet, by the injurious, unjust, and covetous humors of some
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lynn. 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 Lynn.
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 year, then a sheet.
1912Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Lynn post office opened in 1838, 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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2016
