Blair’s post office opened in 1869, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #17 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 9 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blair is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #17 of 57 in Nebraska. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blair’s overall grade.
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Blair’s 17.7 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Blair’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Blair was platted in 1869 when the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for railroad magnate John Insley Blair, who was credited with bringing the railroad to town. Blair was incorporated as a city in 1872. Within its first year, Blair was designated county seat.
In March 1869, a small child playing on a railroad turntable in town was injured on the turntable. The father sued the railway for damages, leading all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1873 case Sioux City & Pacific Railroad Co. v. Stout.
Passages that mention Blair, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Washington County, Nebraska1876 · page 25Read the page →
Read the text
on the soles of which were snow and ice, were found in Hamming's house. Willard Randall, a young man nineteen years of age, had occupied this house alone for several days, and he was arrested on suspicion of being the murderer. He was tried at Blair, before Judge Samuel Maxwell, in November, 1875, District Attorney Connell, prosecuting, and Col. Savage, of Omaha, and John Carrigan, Esq., of Blair, defending. The jurj' disagreed and a change of venue to Douglas county was obtained. In March, 1876, the case was tried before Judge Griffey, of the Sixth dis-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Washington County, Nebraska1876 · page 41Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Blair was first under control of aboard of trustees appointed by the county commissioners, and consisted of the following named : 1869— J. H. Post, chairman, Alex Reed, Dr. F. H. Longley, C. B.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Blair, 1869 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Blair post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Blair rank for history?
Blair is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #17 of 57 in Nebraska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Blair?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Congregational Church of Blair (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Washington County Courthouse and the Dana College Campus, with 9 contributing buildings. 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Blair?
25% of Blair’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1965.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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