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History · Delphos

Delphos’ post office opened in 1866, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Delphos began

When was Delphos founded?

1866

The Delphos post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 256 in 18802020 census: 302160 years
Founding year: the first Delphos post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Delphos’ 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 Delphos are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1985. Watch Delphos change.Old housesHalf of Delphos’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 870 in 1920; 302 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delphos’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delphos’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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On the map

Delphos on the map, 1892 to 1985

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

Delphos on the 1892 USGS mapDelphos on the 1952 USGS mapDelphos on the 1979 USGS mapDelphos on the 1985 USGS map1892Minneapolis sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Delphos came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delphos.

Read it all →

Delphos was founded in 1867 by Levi and Dan Yockey. The two brothers moved to the area from Delphos, Ohio and named the new community for their hometown. Many settlers came to the area looking for a fresh start after the Civil War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Delphos, 1866 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Delphos post office opens
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911Born hereArchie McKain is born here
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 870
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Delphos, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 870

Peaked at 870 in 1920; 302 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Delphos’s post office has been open since 1866.

Gone or out of use
Delphos Elementary Schoolschool

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

Questions about Delphos’ history

What year was Delphos founded?

The Delphos post office opened in 1866, 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 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.