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History · Dalzell

Dalzell’s post office opened in 1902, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dalzell began

When was Dalzell founded?

1902

The Dalzell post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 949 in 19102020 census: 663124 years
Founding year: the first Dalzell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dalzell’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 Dalzell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1979. Watch Dalzell change.Old housesHalf of Dalzell’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dalzell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dalzell’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

Dalzell on the map, 1893 to 1979

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

Dalzell on the 1893 USGS mapDalzell on the 1911 USGS mapDalzell on the 1947 USGS mapDalzell on the 1966 USGS mapDalzell on the 1979 USGS map1893La Salle 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 Dalzell.

The story

How Dalzell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dalzell.

Read it all →

The coal mine shaft in Dalzell was sunk in 1899 by the Spring Valley Coal Company. The town was originally known as the No. 5 Mine Camp. The company owned the property in and around the town. Later the No. 6 Mine Camp was added. The camps were incorporated on February 11, 1904. The village was named for mining magnate Samuel M. Dalzell, the mine manager from Spring Valley. The mine closed in February 1923.

A post office called Dalzell has been in operation since 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dalzell, 1893 to 1917

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Dalzell post office opens
  5. 1917Born hereDante Magnani 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.
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People over time

Dalzell, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 949

Between 496 and 949 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Peru1 historic placeA

Questions about Dalzell’s history

What year was Dalzell founded?

The Dalzell post office opened in 1902, 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 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.