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History · Creston

Creston’s post office opened in 1875, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Citizens State Bank. Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1890.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Creston began, and where its name came from

When was Creston founded?

1875

The Creston post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 200 in 18902020 census: 181151 years

How did Creston get its name?

Creston was named from its lofty elevation.

Founding year: the first Creston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Creston’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 Creston are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 381 in 1920; 181 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Creston’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Creston’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Creston’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
People over time

Creston, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 381

Peaked at 381 in 1920; 181 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Creston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Creston.

Read it all →

Creston was laid out in 1886 when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. It was named from its lofty elevation. Creston was originally built up chiefly by Germans. The town was incorporated as a village in 1890.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Creston, 1875 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Creston post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 381
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Creston, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from W 12014Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from W 1Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SW 12014Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SW 1Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SE 22014Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SE 2Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SE 12014Creston, Nebraska Pine Street from SE 1NEMap-doton-Creston2005NEMap-doton-Creston
On the map

Creston on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Creston on the 1966 USGS mapCreston on the 1985 USGS map1966Creston 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 Creston.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Creston

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
2013
Citizens State Bank
Citizens State Bank
Buildings
Citizens State BankBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Creston

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

See all →
Alfred GruentherUnited States Army general · b. 1899
A
Armitage TrailAmerican crime writer · b. 1902
B
Bonnie C. TempletonAmerican botanist · b. 1906
Horace L. McBrideUnited States general · b. 1894
Audrey Stevens NiyogiAmerican biochemist · b. 1932
C
Claude E. WelchAmerican surgeon · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Creston’s post office has been open since 1875.

Gone or out of use
Crestonlocale

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Humphrey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCreston Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Creston’s history

What year was Creston founded?

The Creston post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Creston?

One place: the Citizens State Bank (listed 2013).

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.