Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chapman Township

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 · Chapman Township

Chapman Township’s post office opened in 1868, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1900.

1868first post office
1on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chapman Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chapman Township began

When was Chapman Township founded?

1868

The Chapman Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 209 in 19002020 census: 500158 years
Founding year: the first Chapman Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chapman Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Chapman Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 371 in 1970; 260 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chapman Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chapman Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chapman Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChapman, Nebraska 9th St 1: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Chapman Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Chapman Township on the 1899 USGS mapChapman Township on the 1962 USGS mapChapman Township on the 1985 USGS map1899St Paul sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Chapman Township, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 371

Peaked at 371 in 1970; 260 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Chapman Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chapman Township.

Read it all →

Chapman got its start in the 1860s, following construction of the railroad through the territory. The new railroad town was named for a railroad official. The first building was built in Chapman in 1871.

The Cahow Barber Shop in Chapman is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Chapman Township, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Chapman, Nebraska 9th St 1Date?Chapman, Nebraska 9th St 1Chapman, Nebraska 9th St 2Date?Chapman, Nebraska 9th St 2Chapman, Nebraska 9th from PrairieDate?Chapman, Nebraska 9th from Prairie
Today2 recent
Sunset view of railroad signals along the Grand Island railroad line2021Sunset view of railroad signals along the Grand Islan…NEMap-doton-Chapman2005NEMap-doton-Chapman
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.

Chapman, Nebraska 9th St 1
Retake this viewChapman, Nebraska 9th St 1

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Chapman Township

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

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Vieregg TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLone Tree Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPrairie Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chapman Township’s history

What year was Chapman Township founded?

The Chapman Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.