The story
Read it all →How Keystone came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Keystone.
Keystone was platted in 1881 when the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad was extended to that point.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Keystone
Keystone dates to 1881, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: the census since 1900.
1881founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Keystone began
When was Keystone founded?
1881
Keystone dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.
First census: 405 in 19002020 census: 599145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
What stands out about Keystone’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 Keystone’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Keystone’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Keystone, 1881 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1881FoundingKeystone is established
- 1882Post officeThe Keystone post office opens
- 20th century
- 1916Born hereMonte Merkel is born here
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumPeople over time
Keystone, census by census
Between 405 and 687 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Keystone’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Keystone’s post office has been open since 1882.
Gone or out of use
Keystonelocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Keystone’s history
What year was Keystone founded?
In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Keystone’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1900 counted 405 people here.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.