Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Norway

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Norway

Norway dates to 1863, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1890.

1863founded
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Norway began

When was Norway founded?

1863

Norway dates its founding to 1863 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 401 in 18902020 census: 466163 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓

What stands out about Norway’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 Norway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18883 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1968. Watch Norway change.Boom and bustPeaked at 633 in 1980; 466 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Norway’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Norway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Norway’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

Norway on the map, 1888 to 1968

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

Norway on the 1888 USGS mapNorway on the 1899 USGS mapNorway on the 1968 USGS map1888Amana 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 Norway.

People over time

Norway, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 633

Peaked at 633 in 1980; 466 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Norway came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Norway.

Read it all →

Norway was platted in 1863. To establish the settlement, Osman Tuttle gave five acres of land to Chicago and Northwestern Railway on the condition that it would be named after his native country.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Norway, 1863 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863
    FoundingNorway is established
  3. 1863Post officeThe Florence post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe Florence post office closes
  5. 1880Post officeThe Norway post office opens
  6. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1912Born hereHal Trosky is born here
  9. 1938Born hereCloyd E. Robinson is born here
  10. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 633
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 album
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Norway

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Hal TroskyMajor League Baseball first baseman · b. 1912
C
Cloyd E. RobinsonAmerican politician · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Norway’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Florence, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Florence
1863–1880
Norway
1880–today
18601940today

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

Questions about Norway’s history

What year was Norway founded?

In 1863, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Norway’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1890 counted 401 people here.

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 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.