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History · Hamburg

Hamburg’s post office opened in 1829, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1880.

1829first post office
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hamburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hamburg began

When was Hamburg founded?

1829

The Hamburg post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1836.

First census: 95 in 18802020 census: 99197 years
Founding year: the first Hamburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1836.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hamburg’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hamburg’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 352 in 1920; 99 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1829: 197 years of Hamburg.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hamburg’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJohn Shaw Homestead: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Hamburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hamburg.

Read it all →

One hundred lots in the town of Hamburg were offered for sale by John Shaw in 1836. Once a thriving river community where apples were loaded and shipped, banks were busy and profitable, stores were laden with goods and shoppers, Hamburg now sits along and sometimes in the waters of the Mississippi. The only public facility is the Hamburg Post Office.

A bluff monument overlooks the village, indicating the burial of riverboat Captain Swarnes who wished to be buried upright to command a panoramic view of the river. National Geographic, September 1975; pages 308 and 309, published a picture of the Delta Queen heading up the Mississippi river past Hamburg, using Captain Swarnes' monument as the photographer's vantage point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hamburg, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 352

Peaked at 352 in 1920; 99 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Hamburg, 1829 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Hamburg post office opens
  3. 1836In the archive1836 advertisement
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 352
  6. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hamburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1830s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
1836 advertisement18361836 advertisementDocument
Date unknown1 to date
John Shaw HomesteadDate?John Shaw Homestead
On the map

Hamburg on the map, 1930 to 1993

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

Hamburg on the 1930 USGS mapHamburg on the 1978 USGS mapHamburg on the 1993 USGS map1930Hardin 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 Hamburg.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

John Shaw Homestead
Retake this viewJohn Shaw Homestead

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hamburg’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Hamburg

Nobody well known was born in Hamburg itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Clarence Andrew CannonAmerican politician · b. 1879
B
Bill McGeeMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1909
Marc HillAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1952
Paul MeloanMajor League Baseball outfielder · b. 1888

Questions about Hamburg’s history

What year was Hamburg founded?

The Hamburg post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1836.

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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.