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History · Dana

Dana’s post office opened in 1874, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Elder-Pyle House.

1874first post office
1on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Dana began

When was Dana founded?

1874

The Dana post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 555152 years
Founding year: the first Dana post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dana’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 Dana are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Dana’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dana’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dana’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
The story

How Dana came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dana.

Read it all →

Dana was platted in 1874 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was named for Charles Dana, a railroad promoter. A post office has been in operation at Dana since 1874. Dana was incorporated in 1886. In 1886, Dana was declared a rapidly growing and vibrant community, due to its railroad, businesses, and agriculture.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dana, 1874 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Dana post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Born hereErnie Pyle is born here
  5. 1920Born hereBert Shepard is born here
By decade

Dana, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Dana-RR-tracks-in2020Dana-RR-tracks-inDana-Maple-Street-in2020Dana-Maple-Street-inDana-Maple-Street-buildings-in2020Dana-Maple-Street-buildings-inDana-Maple-Briarwood-in2020Dana-Maple-Briarwood-inDana-Ernie-Pyle-birthplace-in2020Dana-Ernie-Pyle-birthplace-in
On the National Register

1 historic place in Dana

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Elder-Pyle House
Elder-Pyle House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Elder-Pyle HouseBuilding · listed 2021

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dana

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

See all →
Ernie PyleAmerican war correspondent and writer · b. 1900
Bert ShepardMajor League Baseball player · b. 1920

Questions about Dana’s history

What year was Dana founded?

The Dana post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Dana?

One place: the Elder-Pyle House (listed 2021).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.