Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Deshler

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 · Deshler

Deshler’s post office opened in 1887, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1900.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Deshler began, and where its name came from

When was Deshler founded?

1887

The Deshler post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 258 in 19002020 census: 752139 years

How did Deshler get its name?

Deshler was named for John G. Deshler, the original owner of the town site.

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

What stands out about Deshler’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1980. Watch Deshler change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,177 in 1930; 752 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Deshler’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deshler’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBarber pole, 4th Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Deshler on the map, 1898 to 1980

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

Deshler on the 1898 USGS mapDeshler on the 1960 USGS mapDeshler on the 1980 USGS map1898Hebron 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 Deshler.

People over time

Deshler, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,177

Peaked at 1,177 in 1930; 752 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Deshler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deshler.

Read it all →

Deshler was established in 1887 when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for John G. Deshler, the original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deshler, 1887 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Deshler post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930Born herePhilip Meyer is born here
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,177
  7. 1982In the archiveBarber pole, 4th Street
By decade

Deshler, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Barber pole, 4th Street1982Barber pole, 4th Street
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
Today2 recent
Deshler, NE2017Deshler, NENEMap-doton-Deshler2005NEMap-doton-Deshler
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.

Barber pole, 4th Street
Retake this viewBarber pole, 4th Street, 1982

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Deshler’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
DeshlerlocalePeace Lutheran Schoolschool

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

Questions about Deshler’s history

What year was Deshler founded?

The Deshler post office opened in 1887, 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 (3), 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) 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.