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History · Diehlstadt

Diehlstadt dates to 1868, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1900.

1868founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Diehlstadt began

When was Diehlstadt founded?

1868

Diehlstadt dates its founding to 1868 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 156 in 19002020 census: 157158 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓

What stands out about Diehlstadt’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 Diehlstadt are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Diehlstadt’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Diehlstadt.

Read it all →

Diehlstadt was platted in 1868. The original plat of Diehlstadt filed on June 15, 1870, consisted of 40 acres. The community of Diehlstadt was founded by Tennessee-born John Kirkpatrick (1829-1903) who was one of the community's first merchants and served as Diehlstadt's postmaster between May 11, 1876, and July 30, 1890. The community was named after one H. J. Deal (also spelled Diehl), a German merchant, with the German-language suffix "stadt" meaning town. A post office called Diehlstadt was established in 1870, and remained in operation until 1977.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Diehlstadt, 1868 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingDiehlstadt is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Diehlstadt post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1977Post officeThe Diehlstadt post office closes
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

Diehlstadt on the map, 1939 to 1969

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

Diehlstadt on the 1939 USGS mapDiehlstadt on the 1954 USGS mapDiehlstadt on the 1969 USGS map1939Charleston 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 Diehlstadt.

People over time

Diehlstadt, census by census

01002001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 196

Between 141 and 196 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Diehlstadt had its own post office from 1870 to 1977.

Diehlstadt
1870–1977
18701950today

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

Questions about Diehlstadt’s history

What year was Diehlstadt founded?

In 1868, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Diehlstadt’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1900 counted 156 people here.

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, 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.