How Echo came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Echo.
In 1907 a mob lynched Henry Johnson, a middle-aged Black man was taken from jail by a mob of 150 white men, who shot him around 50 times.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Echo was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1940 on.
The Echo post office opened in 1894, 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 Echo’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Echo.
In 1907 a mob lynched Henry Johnson, a middle-aged Black man was taken from jail by a mob of 150 white men, who shot him around 50 times.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Echo. 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 Echo.
Echo’s post office has been open since 1894.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Echo post office opened in 1894, 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.

1940Marksville sheet · 1:62,500