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History · Courtland

Courtland dates to 1882, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1900.

1882founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Courtland began

When was Courtland founded?

1882

Courtland dates its founding to 1882 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 174 in 19002020 census: 734144 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

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

Start Courtland’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Courtland.

Read it all →

The place occupied by the current town was named Courtland in 1865, but was previously named Hilo. Courtland was platted in 1882. There are conflicting records for the origin of the name. According to Bryant (1882) the city was named for Cortland County, New York and not spelled the same; however, Stennett (1908) suggests it is named after Courland, a once-Germanized region of present-day Latvia by an emigrant, J.H. Stewart, and was accidentally misspelled on the official record.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Courtland, 1866 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Cortland post office opens
  3. 1882
    FoundingCourtland is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1964On 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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Courtland on the map, 1964 to 1991

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

Courtland on the 1964 USGS mapCourtland on the 1986 USGS mapCourtland on the 1991 USGS map1964Courtland 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 Courtland.

People over time

Courtland, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020734

Grew from 174 people in 1900 to 734 in 2020, 4 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Courtlandlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Courtland
Fechner FarmZimmerman Private

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.

Cambria Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCourtland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Courtland’s history

What year was Courtland founded?

In 1882, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Courtland’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1900 counted 174 people here.

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 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.