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History · Bennington

Bennington’s post office opened in 1864, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

1864first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Quick answers

How Bennington began

When was Bennington founded?

1864

The Bennington post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 622162 years
Founding year: the first Bennington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bennington’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 Bennington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bennington’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bennington’s collection

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

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

How Bennington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bennington.

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Bennington was platted in 1878 and grew to a population of over 200 within three years. The city name comes from one of two sources. A paper written on the history of Bennington states that Bennington is an Indian name meaning "place of fine trees." The same article also states that co-city founder George R. Parker gave the town its name after Bennington, Vermont. The Solomon Valley Railroad, a branch of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, reached Bennington in 1878.

In 1879, the first school was located one half mile south of town. In 1918, a new school house was built. In 1938, an auditorium was added; in 1955 a shop was added; and in 1961 a new grade school building was annexed.

Chapters19th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bennington, 1864 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Bennington post office opens
  3. 1878Born hereHenry Granger Knight is born here
  4. 1889Born herePeggy Hull is born here
By decade

Bennington, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Bennington2005KSMap-doton-Bennington
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bennington

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

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Peggy HullAmerican journalist · b. 1889
Henry Granger KnightAmerican chemist · b. 1878

Questions about Bennington’s history

What year was Bennington founded?

The Bennington post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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, 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.