Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1880.
The Morley post office opened in 1869, 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 Morley’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Morley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 493 to 517 (+5%).
Passages that mention Morley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The village of Morley owes its existence to the construction of the G. R. & I. railroad. The first settlers on the village plat were Charles Lawson, Nelson Pike, M. Swanger, George H. Ward, Hiram Bryant, Allen Chapin, Rodney Elmer and Harvey Winas, all of whom came in the summer or fall of 1869. The ix)st-oflice was established the same fail, and Frank P. Bodwell was appointed the first Post-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the latter part of May, 1870, the company began to lay iron north of Morley at the rate of a mile a day, during pleasant weather, and on Monday, June 20, 1870, the track reached the site of the present depot east of the lower bridge, and the citizens of Big Rapids at last had the pleasure of seeing a real live locomotive in their midst. A barrel of sugar, surrounded l)y about a hundred citizens, greeted
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morley. 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 Morley.
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 Morley’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 299 and 528 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morley’s Wikipedia page.
The Morley post office opened in 1869, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1900
1909
1909
2015
2005