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History · Emma

Emma’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Emma. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Emma is an unincorporated community in White County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the Little Wabash River, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of New Haven. It has a post office.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 387 to 295 (-24%). Half of its homes were built before 1966.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Emma yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Emma’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from EmmaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Emma.Meet them →
By decade

Emma, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Emma is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Emma has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Carmi Chapter House in Carmi, 9.4 miles away.

Emma and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Emma. Tap a dot.
Carmi Chapter HouseRobinson-Stewart HouseJames Robert Williams HouseL. Haas StoreRatcliff InnFrederick and Augusta Hagemann Farm

Closest to Emma

Carmi Chapter HouseCarmi · Building9.4miRobinson-Stewart HouseCarmi · Building9.5miJames Robert Williams HouseCarmi · Building9.5miL. Haas StoreCarmi · Building9.6miRatcliff InnCarmi · Building9.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Carmi Chapter House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Emma?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Emma’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 New Haven📜 Maunie📜 Heralds Prairie📜 Asbury
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Emma, ILWhite CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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