Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Boys Town

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 · Boys Town

Boys Town dates to 1917, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Father Flanagan's House. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1940.

1917founded
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boys Town’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Boys Town began

When was Boys Town founded?

1917

Boys Town dates its founding to 1917 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 254 in 19402020 census: 410109 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1934.The full story ↓

What stands out about Boys Town’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 997 in 1960; 410 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · People over time

Boys Town, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 997

Peaked at 997 in 1960; 410 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Boys Town came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boys Town.

Read it all →

The village of Boys Town was established on December 12, 1917 as the headquarters of Father Flanagan's Boys' Home (Boys Town), founded by Father Edward J. Flanagan. The village houses the national headquarters of Boys Town, homes for the youth served and the families that care for them, a church, a museum (The Hall of History), a school, a post office, a fire station, visitor’s center, cafe and other buildings. The village is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boys Town, 1917 to 1968

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1917
    FoundingBoys Town is established
  3. 1927BuiltFather Flanagan's House is built
  4. 1930In the archiveA Boys Town view (76878)
  5. 1934Post officeThe Boys Town post office opens
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 997
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Boys Town, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
A Boys Town view (76878)c. 1930A Boys Town view (76878)Aerial view of Boys Town (76879)c. 1930Aerial view of Boys Town (76879)Boys Town Choir (76877)c. 1930Boys Town Choir (76877)Boys Town City Council (76874)c. 1930Boys Town City Council (76874)Boys Town Farm (76869)c. 1930Boys Town Farm (76869)
1940s–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
On the map

Boys Town on the map, 1968 to 1983

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

Boys Town on the 1968 USGS mapBoys Town on the 1975 USGS mapBoys Town on the 1983 USGS map1968Elkhorn 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 Boys Town.

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.

A Boys Town view (76878)
Retake this viewA Boys Town view (76878), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Boys Town

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Father Flanagan's House
Father Flanagan's House, built 1927
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian Revival1
Father Flanagan's HouseGeorgian Revival · Built 1927

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Boys Town

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

See all →
Marlon BrandoAmerican actor · b. 1924
Warren BuffettAmerican investor, entrepreneur and businessman · b. 1930
Malcolm XAmerican Black rights activist · b. 1925
Fred AstaireAmerican dancer, choreographer, actor, and sing… · b. 1899
Nick NolteAmerican actor · b. 1941
A
Andy RoddickAmerican tennis player · b. 1982
Help out

Finish Boys Town’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA Boys Town view (76878): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Boys Town’s history

What year was Boys Town founded?

In 1917, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Boys Town’s post office opened in 1934, and the census of 1940 counted 254 people here.

What is on the National Register in Boys Town?

One place: the Father Flanagan's House (listed 1979).

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 (1), 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.