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History · Datto

Datto’s post office opened in 1900, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Datto began

When was Datto founded?

1900

The Datto post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Thurman (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 244 in 19102020 census: 65126 years
Founding year: the first Datto post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Datto’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 Datto are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Datto’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Datto’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
The story

How Datto came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Datto.

Read it all →

Datto was established as a railroad stop along the Cotton Belt Railroad in 1900. Members of the Day family, namely Isaac and his sons, Charles and Delmer, provided land for the new city. The city requested the name "Dayton," but after this was rejected by the U.S. Postal Service, the name "Datto" was chosen. Datto was incorporated in 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Datto, 1888 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Thurman post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Datto post office opens
  5. 1903Post officeThe Thurman post office closes
  6. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1939Born hereBill Rice is born here
By decade

Datto, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Datto-entrance-ar2020Datto-entrance-arDatto-Missionary-Baptist-Church-ar2020Datto-Missionary-Baptist-Church-arDatto-Delmer-St-ar2020Datto-Delmer-St-arARMap-doton-Datto2005ARMap-doton-Datto
On the map

Datto on the map, 1935 to 1964

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

Datto on the 1935 USGS mapDatto on the 1941 USGS mapDatto on the 1964 USGS map1935Knobel 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 Datto.

People over time

Datto, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 275

Between 65 and 275 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Datto’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Thurman, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Thurman
1888–1903
Datto
1900–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Datto’s history

What year was Datto founded?

The Datto post office opened in 1900, 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 (4), 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.