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History · Lewisburg

Lewisburg’s post office opened in 1877, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Lewisburg began, and where its name came from

When was Lewisburg founded?

1877

The Lewisburg post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1878. Another post office, Henrysville (1852), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 111 in 18802020 census: 748149 years

How did Lewisburg get its name?

Lewisburg was named for Eugene C. Lewis, the line's chief engineer.

More on the name

In 1877, the post office moved to the new community and changed its name.

Founding year: the first Lewisburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1878. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lewisburg’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 Lewisburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lewisburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lewisburg’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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The story

How Lewisburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lewisburg.

Read it all →

The local post office was established at a nearby stage coach stop in 1852 under the name "Henrysville" in honor of the local postmaster's family name.

In 1872, Lewisburg was surveyed, platted, and founded by the Owensboro and Nashville Railroad to serve as a depot on its line. It was named for Eugene C. Lewis, the line's chief engineer. In 1877, the post office moved to the new community and changed its name. The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly the next year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lewisburg, 1852 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Henrysville post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Henrysville post office closes
  4. 1877Post officeThe Lewisburg post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1939Born hereLarry Forgy is born here
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Lewisburg on the map, 1951 to 1983

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

Lewisburg on the 1951 USGS mapLewisburg on the 1983 USGS map1951Lewisburg 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 Lewisburg.

People over time

Lewisburg, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 972

Between 111 and 972 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Lewisburg’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Henrysville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Henrysville
1852–1877
Lewisburg
1877–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Henrysville

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

Questions about Lewisburg’s history

What year was Lewisburg founded?

The Lewisburg post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1878.

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, 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.