Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hanson

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Hanson

Hanson’s post office opened in 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Hanson was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1880.

1869first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hanson began

When was Hanson founded?

1869

The Hanson post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1873.

First census: 217 in 18802020 census: 758157 years
Founding year: the first Hanson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1873.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hanson’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 Hanson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19093 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1969. Watch Hanson change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hanson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hanson’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
People over time

Hanson, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020549 in 1900Low: 216

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Hanson on the map, 1909 to 1969

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

Hanson on the 1909 USGS mapHanson on the 1952 USGS mapHanson on the 1969 USGS map1909Madisonville sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Hanson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hanson.

Read it all →

The town was founded in 1869 on a 50-acre (20 ha) grant from two local landowners, judge Robert Eastwood and pastor Roland Gooch, in order to function as a stop on the Evansville, Henderson, and Nashville Railroad. The city was laid out by (and named for) a railway's engineer and surveyor named Henry B. Hanson. The community received its post office on December 7, 1869, and was incorporated by the state assembly on March 31, 1873.

The Evansville, Henderson, & Nashville was purchased by the St. Louis and Southeastern in 1872, which (following a reorganization) was purchased in turn by the L&N in 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hanson, 1869 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Hanson post office opens
  3. 1889Born hereBertha Mae Lillenas is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1918Born hereBob Givens is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 758
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 album
On the National Register

1 listing protects 11 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Hanson Historic District
Hanson Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial1
Italianate1
Hanson Historic DistrictCommercial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Hanson

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

See all →
B
Bob GivensAmerican animator · b. 1918
Bertha Mae LillenasAmerican evangelist and hymn writer · b. 1889

Questions about Hanson’s history

What year was Hanson founded?

The Hanson post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1873.

What is on the National Register in Hanson?

One place: the Hanson Historic District (listed 1988).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.