Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1920.
Otis dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.
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 Otis’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Otis. 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 Otis.
From Wikipedia’s history of Otis.
Otis was founded in 1886, and named for the founder's son, Otis Modderwell.
The first post office in Otis was established in August 1887.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kansas - Rush County - ED 83-1 - ED 83-23
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveKansas - Oberlin through Republican River2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Otis’ page.
Retake this view · +15Between 282 and 505 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Otis’ Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Otis itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Otis’ post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1920 counted 505 people here.
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 (5), 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.
1917
2005
2005
