The story
Read it all →How Orlando Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Orlando Township.
Orlando was issued a post office in 1886. The post office was discontinued in 1888.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Orlando Township
Orlando Township’s post office opened in 1886, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1951 on.
1886first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Orlando Township began
When was Orlando Township founded?
1886
The Orlando Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Orlando (1886) and Wheeler (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 44140 years
Founding year: the first Orlando Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Orlando Township’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 Orlando Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Orlando Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Orlando Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Orlando Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orlando Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Orlando
Wheeler
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wheeler
Gone or out of use
Orlandolocale
1cemetery inside Orlando Township
Cheyenne Valley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Orlando Township, 1886 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Orlando Township on the map, 1951 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orlando Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Bird City North sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Orlando Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Orlando Township
Nobody well known was born in Orlando Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Orlando Township’s history
What year was Orlando Township founded?
The Orlando Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.