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History · Evans Mills

Evans Mills dates to 1802, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1880.

1802founded

1on the National Register

47%homes built before 1940

4old photos & papers

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From Evans Mills’ archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Evans Mills began, and where its name came from

When was Evans Mills founded?

1802

Evans Mills dates its founding to 1802 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 578 in 18802020 census: 678224 years

How did Evans Mills get its name?

Evans Mills was named for Ethni Evans, a mill owner.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1823. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Evans Mills’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1982. Watch Evans Mills change.Old housesHalf of Evans Mills’ homes were built before 1944.Deep rootsEstablished in 1802: 224 years of Evans Mills.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Evans Mills’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Evans Mills’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewEvans Mills (Village); Philadelphia Bus…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Evans Mills on the map, 1903 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Evans Mills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1903Theresa sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Evans Mills.

The story

How Evans Mills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Evans Mills.

Read it all →

The village was founded around 1802, but the mills were not erected until 1806. In the middle of the 19th century, the community was briefly called "Evansville". It was named for Ethni Evans, a mill owner.

Evans Mills became an incorporated village in 1874. Its population was then about 500.

The LeRay Hotel, circa 1828, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The town is the home of Evans Mills Speedway which was built in 1967.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Evans Mills in 1895

Passages that mention Evans Mills, cut from the printed page as they were published.

passing through Rossie village, and connecting with the village of Morristown. At the village of Ox Bow it connected with the Evans Mills and Ox Bow plank road, 17 miles long, completed in June, 1852. The Pamelia and Evans Mills plank road, continuing this route to Watertown, was fcompleted in June… — **The growth of a century**1895 · page 327Read the page →
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passing through Rossie village, and connecting with the village of Morristown. At the village of Ox Bow it connected with the Evans Mills and Ox Bow plank road, 17 miles long, completed in June, 1852. The Pamelia and Evans Mills plank road, continuing this route to Watertown, was fcompleted in June, 1850. Antwerp and Water-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

wrights being Noah Dunin and Ebenezer Hills, and late in the fall of 1801 a grist-mill was built for Mr. Brown by Ethni Evans, afterwards the pioneer of Evans Mills. A few goods were brought on with the first family, but in the fall of the same year Jacob Brown went to New York on other business, a… — **The growth of a century**1895 · page 458Read the page →
Read the text
wrights being Noah Dunin and Ebenezer Hills, and late in the fall of 1801 a grist-mill was built for Mr. Brown by Ethni Evans, afterwards the pioneer of Evans Mills. A few goods were brought on with the first family, but in the fall of the same year Jacob Brown went to New York on other business, and selected a small stock better
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.

Timeline

Evans Mills, 1802 to 1941

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1802
FoundingEvans Mills is established
1864In the archiveEvans Mills (Village); Philadelphia Business Directory.; Evans Business Directory.; Phila…
20th century
1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1941In the archiveMain street

By decade

Evans Mills, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item

Evans Mills (Village); Philadelphia Business Directory.; Evans Business Directory.; Philadelphia (Village); Champion Bu…

1864Evans Mills (Village); Philadelphia Business Director…

1940s3 items

1941Main street

Mr. Albert Brissant and his niece who are still living in the Pine Camp relocation area near Evans Mills, New York. The…

1941Mr. Albert Brissant and his niece who are still livin…

Mr. Albert Brissant and his niece, who are still living in the Pine Camp relocation area near Evans Mills, New York. Th…

1941Mr. Albert Brissant and his niece, who are still livi…

1950s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewEvans Mills (Village); Philadelphia Business Directory.; Evans Business Directory.; Philadelphia (Village); Champion Bu…, 1864

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Evans Mills’ page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Evans Mills

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Evans Mills, census by census

Between 514 and 714 people in every census since 1880.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Evans Mills’ Wikipedia page.

Questions about Evans Mills’ history

What year was Evans Mills founded?

In 1802, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Evans Mills’ post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1880 counted 578 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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Sources

Where this page comes from

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), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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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