Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
The Effingham post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.
Effingham was named in honor of Effingham H. Nichols, an early promoter of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad.
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 Effingham’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Effingham. 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 Effingham.
Peaked at 676 in 1940; 495 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Effingham’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Effingham.
The first post office in Effingham was established in 1868. The current city experienced growth when the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad was built through the neighborhood and by the 1880s was a thriving village. It was named in honor of Effingham H. Nichols, an early promoter of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Effingham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Effingham, the seat of Atchison county high school, is an incorporated town, located sixteen miles west of Atchison, on the Central Branch railroad, and was first platted by William Osborne April 4, 1868, who built the first hundred miles of the Central Branch railroad, and is located on a part of the southwest quarter of section 15 and the northwest quarter of section 22, township 6, range 18. The original plat contained only eight blocks and was subsequently cancelled. Febiaiary 6, 1871, ]\Iajor \\". F. Downs, land commissioner of the Central Branch railroad, filed another plat in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
mercial street, between Third and Fourth, later moving to Effingham wlien the townsite was located, and built one of the first store buildings. He did a large and paying business, and his popularity was shown bv the people of Effingham in electing him their first mayor.
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.
The Effingham post office opened in 1868, 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 (2), 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.
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