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History · Arapahoe

Arapahoe’s post office opened in 1872, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arapahoe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arapahoe began, and where its name came from

When was Arapahoe founded?

1872

The Arapahoe post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 470 in 18802020 census: 1,002154 years

How did Arapahoe get its name?

Arapahoe was named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans who occupied this area.

Founding year: the first Arapahoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Arapahoe’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1986. Watch Arapahoe change.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1922, drew every building in Arapahoe.Old housesHalf of Arapahoe’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arapahoe’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBirds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Arapahoe on the map, 1896 to 1986

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

Arapahoe on the 1896 USGS mapArapahoe on the 1958 USGS mapArapahoe on the 1986 USGS map1896Arapahoe 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 Arapahoe.

Every building

Arapahoe, building by building, 1893–1922

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.

Arapahoe fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 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.

The story

How Arapahoe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arapahoe.

Read it all →

In the spring of 1871, the Arapahoe Town Company was formed in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, under the leadership of Captain E. B. Murphy, for the purpose of establishing a settlement in the Republican River valley. The townsite was surveyed on July 18, 1871. It was named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans who occupied this area.

A post office was established in Arapahoe in 1872. A sawmill and gristmill were constructed on Muddy Creek, west of the town; the sawmill provided timber for early construction.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arapahoe, 1872 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Arapahoe post office opens
  3. 1883Born hereArno B. Cammerer is born here
  4. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1911In the archiveBirds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska
By decade

Arapahoe, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Birds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska1911Birds eye view of Arapahoe, NebraskaBirds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska1911Birds eye view of Arapahoe, NebraskaBirds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska1911Birds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
A modest, color-coordinated house2021A modest, color-coordinated houseA corne or downtown Arapahoe, a small town near the Kansas border in south-central Nebraska2021A corne or downtown Arapahoe, a small town near the K…Furnas-Gosper Museum2010Furnas-Gosper MuseumArapahoe, Nebraska downtown 3.22010Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 3.2Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 3.12010Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 3.1Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 22010Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 2Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 12010Arapahoe, Nebraska downtown 1Arapahoe, Nebraska Allen's Block2010Arapahoe, Nebraska Allen's BlockNEMap-doton-Arapahoe2005NEMap-doton-Arapahoe
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.

Birds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska
Retake this viewBirds eye view of Arapahoe, Nebraska, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arapahoe, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,226

Between 470 and 1,226 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Arapahoe’s history

What year was Arapahoe founded?

The Arapahoe post office opened in 1872, 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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), 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.