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History · Triumph

Triumph’s post office opened in 1857, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1958 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
From Triumph’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Triumph began

When was Triumph founded?

1857

The Triumph post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 100169 years
Founding year: the first Triumph post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Triumph’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 Triumph’s collection

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

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

How Triumph came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Triumph.

Read it all →

Triumph was so named when supporters of establishing a post office "triumphed" over those who opposed it. The Triumph post office has been in operation since 1857. The Chicago Northwestern Railroad established a depot in Triumph around 1900. It stood until roughly 1950.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Triumph, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Triumph on the map, 1958 to 1961

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

Triumph on the 1958 USGS mapTriumph on the 1961 USGS map1958Aurora sheet · 1:250,000

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

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.

Triumphdepot w560h317
Retake this viewTriumphdepot w560h317, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Triumph

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

See all →

Questions about Triumph’s history

What year was Triumph founded?

The Triumph post office opened in 1857, 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 (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.