Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Alton

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 · Alton

Alton dates to 1838, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1870.

1838founded
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alton began

When was Alton founded?

1838

Alton dates its founding to 1838 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 137 in 18702020 census: 29188 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

What stands out about Alton’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 277 in 1890; 29 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1838: 188 years of Alton.Old housesHalf of Alton’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alton’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 viewMill Creek Bridge, Mill Creek: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Alton, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 277

Peaked at 277 in 1890; 29 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Alton, 1838 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838
    FoundingAlton is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Alton post office opens
  4. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 277
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Born hereAudrey Call is born here
  7. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1965Post officeThe Alton post office closes
The story

How Alton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alton.

Read it all →

Alton was called Nebraska in its early years. The Nebraska post office opened in 1847, and was renamed Alton in 1860. The post office in Alton was finally discontinued in 1965.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Alton, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Mill Creek Bridge, Mill CreekDate?Mill Creek Bridge, Mill Creek
On the map

Alton on the map, 1950 to 1993

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

Alton on the 1950 USGS mapAlton on the 1993 USGS map1950Alton 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 Alton.

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.

Mill Creek Bridge, Mill Creek
Retake this viewMill Creek Bridge, Mill Creek

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Alton had its own post office from 1860 to 1965.

Alton
1860–1965
18601940today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Boone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOhio TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Alton’s history

What year was Alton founded?

In 1838, according to Wikidata. Alton’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 137 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 the Library of Congress (1), 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.