The story
Read it all →How Searles came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Searles.
Searles was platted in 1899. A post office was established at Searles in 1902.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Searles
Searles’ post office opened in 1902, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1965 on.
1902first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Searles began
When was Searles founded?
1902
The Searles post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 192124 years
Founding year: the first Searles post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Searles’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Searles’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Searles’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.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 albumOn the map
Searles on the map, 1965 to 1991
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Searles. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1965Hanska sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Searles.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Searles
Nobody well known was born in Searles itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Searles’ history
What year was Searles founded?
The Searles post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.