Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1900.
The Merwin post office opened in 1891, 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 Merwin’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Merwin.
Merwin was platted in 1891. The village was named for James G. Merwin, a railroad man. A post office was established at Merwin in 1891, and remained in operation until 1969.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Merwin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
He served as tax collector, constable, and justice of the peace of West Boone township. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and has generally taken the lead in all enterprises which have been intended to advance the interests of his home town of Merwin, of which he is the leading citizen in many ways. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Merwin and is president of this thriving financial concern. The Merwin Christian church is a living monument to his push and energy and devout interest in religious works. He was the leading
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 SurveyWeddings 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 Merwin. 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 Merwin.
Between 58 and 250 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Merwin’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Merwin itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Merwin had its own post office from 1891 to 1969.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Merwin post office opened in 1891, 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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
