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History · Tilden Township

Tilden Township’s post office opened in 1872, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tilden Township began

When was Tilden Township founded?

1872

The Tilden Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Arlington (1871), Tilden (1872) and Bloomington (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 72154 years
Founding year: the first Tilden Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Tilden 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 Tilden Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Tilden Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Tilden Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tilden Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tilden Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Arlington
1871–1872
Tilden
1872–1874
Bloomington
1874–1955
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bloomington
1cemetery inside Tilden Township
Bloomington

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

The story

How Tilden Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tilden Township.

Read it all →

The first non-native permanent settlement in Osborne County was created by the brothers Charles and William Bullock within the area that would become Tilden Township.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tilden Township, 1871 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Arlington post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Arlington post office closes
  4. 1872Post officeThe Tilden post office opens
  5. 1874Post officeThe Tilden post office closes
  6. 1874Post officeThe Bloomington post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1955Post officeThe Bloomington post office closes
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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On the map

Tilden Township on the map, 1953 to 1979

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

Tilden Township on the 1953 USGS mapTilden Township on the 1979 USGS map1953Bloomington sheet · 1:24,000

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sumner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPenn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLawrence TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKill Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndependence TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHawkeye TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tilden Township’s history

What year was Tilden Township founded?

The Tilden Township post office opened in 1872, 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 →
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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 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.