Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper and old-book passages.
The Erskine post office opened in 1889, 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 Erskine’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Erskine.
Erskine was laid out in 1889, and named for George Quincy Erskine, a Minnesota banker. A post office has been in operation at Erskine since 1889.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Erskine, cut from the printed page as they were published.
business was the division of the county into five districts, as follows: District No. 1 was composed of the townships (or tovras*) of Garden, Winger, and Kuute and the village of Erskine. District No. 2, townships of Woodside, Grove Park, Badger, Lessor, and the village of Mentor. District No. 3, townships ' Political divisions of counties in the Eastern States are called towns; in Western and Southern States they are called
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
rebuilding of their resources. With thrifty management in a few years he accumulated some capital, and, in partnerehip with Severt Henson, started a general store at Erskine, in Polk county, meanwliile continuing to work as time keeper in the sawmill at Crookston, his son, 0. T. Nelson, looking after his mercantile interests in Erskine. This enterprise proved eminently successful and enjoyed an extensive
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.
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 Erskine’s page.
Retake this view · +15Erskine’s post office has been open since 1889.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Erskine post office opened in 1889, 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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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