Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1880.
The Wilkesville post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name.
Wilkesville was named after one Mr. Wilkes, the original owner of the town site.
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 Wilkesville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wilkesville. 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 Wilkesville.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWilliam Gates LeDuc is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Wilkesville.
Wilkesville was laid out in 1810. It was named after one Mr. Wilkes, the original owner of the town site. A post office called Wilkesville has been in operation since 1819. The post office closed in 2021 Wilkesville was incorporated as a village in 1881.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Wilkesville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The following persons, now residents of Wilkesville, were soldiers in the grand army, although at the time of their enlistment they did not reside in Wilkesville or Salem.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first school in Wilkesville, of which I can find any record, was taught by Mrs. Orooker, in 1818.
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.
Between 116 and 309 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wilkesville’s Wikipedia page.
The Wilkesville post office opened in 1819, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.
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