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History · Armstrong

Armstrong’s post office opened in 1878, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Armstrong’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Armstrong began

When was Armstrong founded?

1878

The Armstrong post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 76 in 18802020 census: 243148 years
Founding year: the first Armstrong post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Armstrong’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18904 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1985. Watch Armstrong change.Boom and bustPeaked at 616 in 1920; 243 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Armstrong’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Armstrong’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Armstrong’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDenny House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Armstrong on the map, 1890 to 1985

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

Armstrong on the 1890 USGS mapArmstrong on the 1953 USGS mapArmstrong on the 1978 USGS mapArmstrong on the 1985 USGS map1890Glasgow sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Armstrong, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 616

Peaked at 616 in 1920; 243 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Armstrong came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Armstrong.

Read it all →

Armstrong was platted in 1878, and named after one Mr. Armstrong, a railroad promoter. A post office called Armstrong has been in operation since 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Armstrong, 1878 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Armstrong post office opens
  3. 1880Born hereIda M. Bowman Becks is born here
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1894Born hereFrank P. Briggs is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 616
By decade

Armstrong, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Denny HouseDate?Denny House
Every building

Armstrong, building by building, 1917–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Armstrong fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Denny House
Retake this viewDenny House

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Armstrong’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Armstrong

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

See all →
Frank P. BriggsAmerican politician · b. 1894
Ida M. Bowman BecksAmerican elocutionist, suffragist, and African-… · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Armstrong’s post office has been open since 1878.

Gone or out of use
Armstrong Schoolschool

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

Questions about Armstrong’s history

What year was Armstrong founded?

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

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 the Library of Congress (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.