The story
Read it all →How Griswold came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Griswold.
The town was named for J. N. A. Griswold, a railroad director.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Griswold
Griswold’s post office opened in 1880, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Griswold National Bank.
1880first post office
1on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Griswold began
When was Griswold founded?
1880
The Griswold post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 994146 years
Founding year: the first Griswold post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Griswold’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Griswold’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Griswold’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Griswold, 1877 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1877
Born hereGuy Lowman is born here - 1879Born hereLouis Pelzer is born here
- 1880Post officeThe Griswold post office opens
- 20th century
- 1920
Born hereNeville Brand is born here
By decade
Griswold, decade by decade
2021
2019
2004On the National Register
1 historic place in Griswold
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Griswold National Bank
Buildings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Griswold
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Griswold’s post office has been open since 1880.
Gone or out of use
Griswoldlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Griswold’s history
What year was Griswold founded?
The Griswold post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Griswold?
One place: the Griswold National Bank (listed 1979).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.