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History · Bassett

Bassett’s post office opened in 1882, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Rock County Courthouse, the Hub Building and the Bassett Lodge and Range Cafe. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
3on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bassett began

When was Bassett founded?

1882

The Bassett post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 270 in 19002020 census: 538144 years
Founding year: the first Bassett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bassett’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 Bassett are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,066 in 1950; 538 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bassett’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bassett’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bassett’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
People over time

Bassett, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,066

Peaked at 1,066 in 1950; 538 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Bassett came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bassett.

Read it all →

Bassett was platted in 1884 soon after the railroad was built through that territory. Sources differ whether it was named for A. N. Bassett, or J. W. Basset, a pioneer settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bassett, 1882 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Bassett post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906BuiltHub Building is built
  5. 1945Born hereRichard Wills is born here
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,066
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bassett, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Cowboy Trail E of Bassett facing W2010Cowboy Trail E of Bassett facing WBassett, Nebraska downtown2010Bassett, Nebraska downtownPhillips 66 station2007Phillips 66 stationNEMap-doton-Bassett2005NEMap-doton-BassettGasoline Station2003Gasoline Station
On the map

Bassett on the map, 1954 to 1985

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

Bassett on the 1954 USGS mapBassett on the 1985 USGS map1954Bassett sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

3 historic places in Bassett

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Rock County Courthouse
Rock County CourthouseHub Building, built 1906Bassett Lodge and Range Cafe
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
Italianate1
Modern Movement1
Streamlined Moderne1
Rock County CourthouseArt Deco
Hub BuildingItalianate · Built 1906
Bassett Lodge and Range CafeModern Movement

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Bassett’s history

What year was Bassett founded?

The Bassett post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Bassett?

Three places: the Rock County Courthouse (listed 1990), the Hub Building (2006) and the Bassett Lodge and Range Cafe (2006).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.