Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1920.
Maskell dates its founding to 1907 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.
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 Maskell’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Maskell.
Maskell was platted in 1907 when the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway was extended to that point. There are two conflicting resources on how Maskell was named. In one source, Maskell was named for John Maskell, a pioneer settler. According to another, it was named after A. H. Maskell, an owner of the surrounding land and sheriff of Dixon County.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maskell. 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 Maskell.
Between 43 and 165 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Maskell’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Maskell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1907, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Maskell’s post office opened in 1908, and the census of 1920 counted 165 people here.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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