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History · Americus

Americus dates to 1857, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.

1857founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Americus began, and where its name came from

When was Americus founded?

1857

Americus dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 431 in 18802020 census: 776169 years

How did Americus get its name?

Americus was named for Amerigo Vespucci.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1857. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Americus’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Americus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18854 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1985. Watch Americus change.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1960, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Americus.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Americus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Americus’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Americus on the map, 1885 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Americus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Americus on the 1885 USGS mapAmericus on the 1894 USGS mapAmericus on the 1972 USGS mapAmericus on the 1985 USGS map1885Eskridge sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Americus.

People over time

Americus, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020493 in 1920Low: 300

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1960, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Americus’ Wikipedia page.

The story

How Americus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Americus.

Read it all →

Americus was laid out in the fall of 1857. It was named for Amerigo Vespucci.

Americus was a station and shipping point on the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Americus, 1857 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingAmericus is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Orleans post office opens
  4. 1859Post officeThe Orleans post office closes
  5. 1864Post officeThe Sheridan post office opens
  6. 1866Post officeThe Sheridan post office closes
  7. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1922Born hereRoss Grimsley is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 938
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orleans
1857–1859
Sheridan
1864–1866
18501940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Americus’ history

What year was Americus founded?

In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Americus’ post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 431 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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) 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.