The story
Read it all →How Callaway came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Callaway.
Callaway was platted in 1885. It was named for S. R. Callaway, general manager of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Callaway
Callaway dates to 1885, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1890.
1885founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Callaway began, and where its name came from
When was Callaway founded?
1885
Callaway dates its founding to 1885 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.
First census: 234 in 18902020 census: 563141 years
How did Callaway get its name?
Callaway was named for S. R. Callaway, general manager of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1880. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Callaway’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 Callaway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Callaway.Boom and bustPeaked at 833 in 1920; 563 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1915, drew every building in Callaway.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Callaway’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Callaway’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Callaway’s post office has been open since 1886. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Delight
Setup
Callaway
Grant
18801950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Callaway, census by census
Peaked at 833 in 1920; 563 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Callaway’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Callaway in 1919
Passages that mention Callaway, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Custer County, Nebraska1919 · page 189Read the page →
Read the text
Street Scene in Callaw.ay in 1895 at once, and on the 7th day of October, 1890, the first regular passenger train pulled into Callaway. The depot was located neither in the old town nor the new. but half way between, on the farm of J. Woods Smith, which was purchased by the Callaway Improvement Company, on. which to lay out a new town of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Custer County, Nebraska1919 · page 272Read the page →
Read the text
having located near the present site of Callaway, a Sunday-school was organized. This languished after a year or two, but was reorganized in 1886, after the town of Callaway was started. In 1883 or 1884 Elder Correll, of the Christian church at Arnold, gathered a few persons at his home and organized the first Sunday-school in that vicinity, and the
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
Callaway, 1880 to 1951
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1880Post officeThe Delight post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Setup post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Setup post office closes
- 1885FoundingCallaway is established
- 1886Post officeThe Delight post office closes
- 1886Post officeThe Callaway post office opens
- 20th century
- 1907Born hereEmery Blagdon is born here
- 1920Born hereRobert D. Booker is born here
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 833
- 1951
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Callaway, decade by decade
Today9 recent
2012Callaway, Nebraska downtown bldg
2012Callaway, Nebraska downtown 4
2012Callaway, Nebraska downtown 3
2012Callaway, Nebraska Seven Valleys Museum
2012Callaway, Nebraska Masonic Temple
2012Callaway, Nebraska Bryners Hall
2011Callaway, Nebraska downtown 2
2011Callaway, Nebraska downtown 1
2005NEMap-doton-CallawayOn the map
Callaway on the map, 1951 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Callaway. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Callaway sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Callaway.
Every building
Callaway, building by building, 1893–1915
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.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Callaway
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
1990
First Custer County Courthouse
Districts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Callaway
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Callaway’s history
What year was Callaway founded?
In 1885, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Callaway’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1890 counted 234 people here.
What is on the National Register in Callaway?
One place: the First Custer County Courthouse (listed 1990).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.