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History · Bodcaw

Bodcaw’s post office opened in 1878, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1970.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bodcaw began

When was Bodcaw founded?

1878

The Bodcaw post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Parker (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 158 in 19702020 census: 121148 years
Founding year: the first Bodcaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bodcaw’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bodcaw are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Bodcaw change.Boom and bustPeaked at 197 in 1980; 121 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bodcaw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bodcaw on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Bodcaw on the 1901 USGS mapBodcaw on the 1973 USGS mapBodcaw on the 1986 USGS map1901Gurdon sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Bodcaw, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 197

Peaked at 197 in 1980; 121 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story

How Bodcaw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bodcaw.

Read it all →

Patents on the land that would become Bodcaw began to be claimed in the 1850s, and a post office and stagecoach stop were established in 1878. By 1890, businesses and industries were operating in the area and a Baptist school known as the 'Bodcaw Academy' had been established.

The Bodcaw Academy was damaged by a tornado in 1915, and was not rebuilt. Public schools in the area were consolidated at Bodcaw in 1941, but in time, they would be further consolidated into the Nevada School District at Rosston. The post office was closed in 1959, but in 1969, the town was incorporated to provide services to the community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bodcaw, 1878 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Bodcaw post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1902Post officeThe Parker post office opens
  6. 1906Post officeThe Parker post office closes
  7. 1923Born hereVirginia Clinton Kelley is born here
  8. 1959Post officeThe Bodcaw post office closes
  9. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 197
By decade

Bodcaw, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ARMap-doton-Bodcaw2005ARMap-doton-Bodcaw
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bodcaw had its own post office from 1878 to 1959. Another post office, Parker, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bodcaw
1878–1959
Parker
1902–1906
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Bodcaw’s history

What year was Bodcaw founded?

The Bodcaw post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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), 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) 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.