Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1890.
The Corder post office opened in 1879, 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 Corder’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Corder. 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 Corder.
From Wikipedia’s history of Corder.
A post office called Corder has been in operation since 1879. The community was named for a son (George W. Corder) of Nathan Corder who was the original owner of the site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Corder, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Corder is a sprightly town of about one thousand population, a station on the Chicago & Alton railroad, in Dover township. It was laid out in 1878, and incorporated in 1881. The first house was erected by the first postmaster, W. J. Leise ; he also conducted the first general store in the place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Corder is a station on the Chicago & Alton Railroad in Dover township, and was laid out in 1878 and incorporated in 1881. The first mayor was G. W. Neithercut. The post office was established in 1878 with W.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Corder (once called Mitchell) was platted on the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 26, township 50, range 25, February 12, 1879, by George W. Corder and Bettie Corder.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
from which he graduated in 1872. During the year previous to his graduation, however, he had been engaged in practicing, and operating a drug store at Aullville, this county. After graduating he sold out at Aullville and at once located in the neighborhood of where Corder now stands, there being no town there at the time. In the spring of 1879 he engaged in the drug business at Corder, the firm being styled Carthrae & Corder. In August, 1862, Dr. Carthrae enlisted in Col. Gordon's Regiment, Company I, under Gen. Shelby. Participated in the battles of Pea
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1916Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 404 and 1,145 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Corder’s Wikipedia page.
The Corder post office opened in 1879, 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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2004