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–Not graded
History · Brady

Brady dates to 1889, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.

1889founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Brady began

When was Brady founded?

1889

Brady dates its founding to 1889 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 308 in 19102020 census: 383137 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓

What stands out about Brady’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 Brady are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brady’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brady’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 Brady came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brady.

Read it all →

Brady was laid out in 1889. The community was named for a trapper named Brady who was killed on what is known as Brady Island.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brady, 1875 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Brady Island post office opens
  3. 1889
    FoundingBrady is established
  4. 1894Post officeThe Brady Island post office closes
  5. 1894Post officeThe Brady post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Brady, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Union Pacific TTT-6 No. 55112022Union Pacific TTT-6 No. 5511Old Texaco Gas Station2018Old Texaco Gas StationBrady, Nebraska Main Street 32010Brady, Nebraska Main Street 3Brady, Nebraska Main Street 22010Brady, Nebraska Main Street 2Brady, Nebraska Main Street 12010Brady, Nebraska Main Street 1NEMap-doton-Brady2005NEMap-doton-Brady
On the map

Brady on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Brady on the 1970 USGS mapBrady on the 1985 USGS map1970Brady 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 Brady.

People over time

Brady, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 460

Between 273 and 460 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Brady

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

See all →
Chuck HagelAmerican soldier and politician · b. 1946
Red CloudChief of Oglala Lakota · b. 1822
E
Evelyn HookerAmerican psychologist · b. 1907
Clayton Keith YeutterAmerican politician · b. 1930
Mike MogisAmerican multi-instrumentalist · b. 1974
Ben KurokiUnited States Air Force airmen · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Brady’s post office has been open since 1894. Another post office, Brady Island, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brady Island
1875–1894
Brady
1894–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Brady’s history

What year was Brady founded?

In 1889, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Brady’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1910 counted 308 people here.

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 (6), 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.