Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Alvo

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Alvo

Alvo’s post office opened in 1891, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1920.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alvo began

When was Alvo founded?

1891

The Alvo post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 208 in 19202020 census: 115135 years
Founding year: the first Alvo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alvo’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 Alvo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Alvo’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1986. Watch Alvo change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alvo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Alvo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alvo.

Read it all →

Alvo was established circa 1892 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. According to tradition, the community was named after Alvo, the first white child born in the new settlement, who reportedly was the daughter of a railroad official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Alvo on the map, 1903 to 1986

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

Alvo on the 1903 USGS mapAlvo on the 1929 USGS mapAlvo on the 1966 USGS mapAlvo on the 1986 USGS map1903Weeping Water 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 Alvo.

By decade

Alvo, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Alvo, Nebraska downtown (2)2013Alvo, Nebraska downtown (2)Alvo, Nebraska downtown (1)2013Alvo, Nebraska downtown (1)NEMap-doton-Alvo2005NEMap-doton-Alvo
People over time

Alvo, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 215

Between 115 and 215 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Alvo

Nobody well known was born in Alvo itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
H
Hilary SwankAmerican actress · b. 1974
B
Brandon SandersonAmerican fantasy writer · b. 1975
Jack SockAmerican tennis player · b. 1992
Deb FischerAmerican politician · b. 1951
Janine TurnerAmerican actress · b. 1962
Robert Leroy CochranAmerican politician · b. 1886
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Alvo’s post office has been open since 1891.

Gone or out of use
AlvolocaleAlvo Post Officepost officeAlvo Schoolschool

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

Questions about Alvo’s history

What year was Alvo founded?

The Alvo post office opened in 1891, 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.