Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listings are the Linn County Courthouse and the Linn County Jail and Sheriff's Residence. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.
The Linneus post office opened in 1840, 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 Linneus’s history is told.
Fire 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 year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions 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.
Born hereRed Murrell is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Linneus.
Linneus was designated county seat in 1839. Originally Linnville, its name was changed to honor Carl Linnaeus in 1840. A post office called Linneus has been in operation since 1840.
The Linn County Courthouse and Linn County Jail and Sheriff's Residence are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Linneus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
There he grew to manhood and obtained a limited common school education. After leaving school he learned his trade, and early in his manhood moved to Missouri, arriving in what is now Linn county, and locating not far from the site of the present city of Linneus in the southern part of Sullivan county. He built the first blacksmith shop in Linneus and helped to clear the portions of the new born town which were laid out for streets. His later years, as has been noted, were passed on his farm, where he died in 1888.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Linneus. 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 Linneus.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 278 and 882 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Linneus’ Wikipedia page.
The Linneus post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Two places: the Linn County Courthouse (listed 1999) and the Linn County Jail and Sheriff's Residence (2001).
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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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