Greensburg’s post office opened in 1885, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
Most of Greensburg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listings are the Greensburg Well and the S.D. Robinett Building. Its Register listings are the Greensburg Well and the S.D. Robinett Building. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.
The Greensburg post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Janes (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 515 in 18902020 census: 740141 years
Founding year: the first Greensburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Greensburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greensburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Kinsley 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 Greensburg.
Every building
Greensburg, building by building, 1888–1915
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The first settlement was established at Greensburg in 1885. Greensburg was named after D.R. "Cannonball" Green, who owned a stagecoach company and played a part in the establishment of the city. In 1887, construction began on the Big Well, the largest hand-dug well in the world. By 1888, Greensburg was proclaimed the "liveliest town in the state", the same year the construction of the Big Well was completed.
The city ceased using the Big Well as a water source in 1932, and converted it into a tourist attraction in 1937. In 1972, the Big Well was declared a national museum.
One of the largest pallasite meteorites ever discovered was found near Greensburg in 1949, weighing over 1,000 pounds.
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.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1979