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History · Science Hill

Science Hill’s post office opened in 1874, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1910.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Science Hill began

When was Science Hill founded?

1874

The Science Hill post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1882. Another post office, Norwood (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 257 in 19102020 census: 657152 years
Founding year: the first Science Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1882.The full story ↓

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

Start Science Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Science Hill’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 Science Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Science Hill.

Read it all →

The community was named by geologist William J. Bobbitt, who visited to gather and analyze the local rocks, and applied to the local post office by William B. Gragg in 1874.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Science Hill, 1874 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Science Hill post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Norwood post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933Post officeThe Norwood post office closes
  6. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Science Hill, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Science-Hill-tower-ky2017Science-Hill-tower-kyScience-Hill-United-Methodist-ky2017Science-Hill-United-Methodist-kyScience-Hill-School-ky2017Science-Hill-School-kyScience-Hill-RR-tracks-south-ky2017Science-Hill-RR-tracks-south-kyScience-Hill-RR-tracks-north-ky2017Science-Hill-RR-tracks-north-kyScience-Hill-Public-Library-ky2017Science-Hill-Public-Library-kyScience-Hill-Post-Office-ky2017Science-Hill-Post-Office-kyScience-Hill-Main-ky2017Science-Hill-Main-kyScience-Hill-Fire-Department-ky2017Science-Hill-Fire-Department-kyScience-Hill-City-Hall-ky2017Science-Hill-City-Hall-kyKerns-Bread-sign-ky2017Kerns-Bread-sign-kyCarl-Dicks-General-Store-ky2017Carl-Dicks-General-Store-kyKYMap-doton-ScienceHill2004KYMap-doton-ScienceHill
On the map

Science Hill on the map, 1935 to 1961

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

Science Hill on the 1935 USGS mapScience Hill on the 1954 USGS mapScience Hill on the 1961 USGS map1935Somerset 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 Science Hill.

People over time

Science Hill, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 693

Between 257 and 693 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Science Hill’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Norwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Science Hill
1874–today
Norwood
1880–1933
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Norwood
Gone or out of use
Science Hill Railroad Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Science Hill
Science Hill

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Somerset23 historic placesA−

Questions about Science Hill’s history

What year was Science Hill founded?

The Science Hill post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1882.

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 Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikipedia, 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.