Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1880.
The Walnut Grove post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.
Walnut Grove was named for the groves of wild black walnut trees growing near the original town site.
The original name of the town was Possum Trot, referring to the multitude of possums in the area.
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 Walnut Grove’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Walnut Grove. 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 Walnut Grove.
From Wikipedia’s history of Walnut Grove.
Walnut Grove was platted in 1859. It was named for the groves of wild black walnut trees growing near the original town site. The original name of the town was Possum Trot, referring to the multitude of possums in the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Walnut Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
the elk, antelope, and tindeer. One of the enterprising men of Creene county who took advantage of the naturally favorable conditions for agricultural purposes in this locality and was adequately repaid for his pains is James Thompson Cantrell, now living in the town of Walnut Grove, 1, nene county, after a long, active and successful career as general farmer and stock raiser. lie has also a good record as ;i public servant, having Idled a number of county offices in an adjoining county, and he is also a veteran ol the Civil war, and a citizen who has ever enjoyed the respect
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.
Between 264 and 665 people in every census since 1880.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Walnut Grove’s Wikipedia page.
The Walnut Grove post office opened in 1853, 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, 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 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.
