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History · Firth

Firth’s post office opened in 1905, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1930.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Photo: Sociotard · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Firth began, and where its name came from

When was Firth founded?

1905

The Firth post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 236 in 19302020 census: 517121 years

How did Firth get its name?

Firth was named for Lorenzo J. Firth, an English emigrant, who gave land for the railroad section house and water tank; the railroad named the station for him in 1903.

Founding year: the first Firth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

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

Start Firth’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Firth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Firth.

Read it all →

Firth began as a Swedish settlement in 1885. It was named for Lorenzo J. Firth, an English emigrant, who gave land for the railroad section house and water tank; the railroad named the station for him in 1903. The post office was established in 1905. The town hosts Firth cemetery (known as Dye cemetery before 1935).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Firth, 1905 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Firth post office opens
  3. 1926Born hereOrval H. Hansen is born here
  4. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980Born hereChris Appelhans is born here
By decade

Firth, decade by decade

Today4 recent
2022-04-03 DavidBarkerDrones 074620222022-04-03 DavidBarkerDrones 0746Firth Post Office2008Firth Post OfficeFirth ID Welcome2008Firth ID WelcomeIDMap-doton-Firth2004IDMap-doton-Firth
On the map

Firth on the map, 1955 to 1979

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

Firth on the 1955 USGS mapFirth on the 1979 USGS map1955Firth sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Firth, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020517

Grew from 236 people in 1930 to 517 in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Firth

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

See all →
Chris AppelhansAmerican filmmaker and illustrator · b. 1980
Orval H. HansenAmerican politician · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Old corners

Firth’s post office has been open since 1905.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Goshen Junction

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

Questions about Firth’s history

What year was Firth founded?

The Firth post office opened in 1905, 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.