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History · Emmett

Emmett’s post office opened in 1905, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1930.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Emmett began

When was Emmett founded?

1905

The Emmett post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 268 in 19302020 census: 170121 years
Founding year: the first Emmett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Emmett’s 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 Emmett are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1990. Watch Emmett change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Emmett’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Emmett on the map, 1889 to 1990

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

Emmett on the 1889 USGS mapEmmett on the 1894 USGS mapEmmett on the 1964 USGS mapEmmett on the 1978 USGS mapEmmett on the 1985 USGS mapEmmett on the 1990 USGS map1889Wamego 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 Emmett.

The story

How Emmett came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Emmett.

Read it all →

The first post office in Emmett was established in November 1905. The community was named for Robert Emmet, an Irish nationalist.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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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People over time

Emmett, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 277

Between 123 and 277 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Emmett’s post office has been open since 1905.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Humdinger Trailer Park

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

Questions about Emmett’s history

What year was Emmett founded?

The Emmett post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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, 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.