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History · Doniphan

Doniphan’s post office opened in 1879, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Doniphan began, and where its name came from

When was Doniphan founded?

1879

The Doniphan post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Orchard (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 85 in 18802020 census: 809147 years

How did Doniphan get its name?

Doniphan was named for Col. John Doniphan of Saint Joseph, Missouri, an attorney for the railroad.

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

What stands out about Doniphan’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 Doniphan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Doniphan change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Doniphan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Doniphan on the map, 1892 to 1993

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

Doniphan on the 1892 USGS mapDoniphan on the 1962 USGS mapDoniphan on the 1974 USGS mapDoniphan on the 1993 USGS map1892Grand Island sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Doniphan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Doniphan.

Read it all →

The town of Doniphan was platted by local pioneer William J. Burger in 1879 as a midway point between Hastings and Grand Island on the St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad. It was named for Col. John Doniphan of Saint Joseph, Missouri, an attorney for the railroad. The first five families of Doniphan invested in the area's lucrative chud industry which helped boost the local economy. Initially, a dozen boats entered the river from Old Saybrook to Rocky Hill, cast their nets, which can be several hundred feet long, and drift with the tide while waiting for a school of chud.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Doniphan in 1920

Passages that mention Doniphan, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The St. Joseph and Grand Island railroad had been built through in 1879 and the town of Doniphan laid out. I want to say a word about the village of Doniphan. Forty years have come and gone since the birth of this community and there are not many of the old settlers left to tell the story. I think …
History of Hall County, Nebraska1920 · page 146Read the page →
Read the text

The St. Joseph and Grand Island railroad had been built through in 1879 and the town of Doniphan laid out. I want to say a word about the village of Doniphan. Forty years have come and gone since the birth of this community and there are not many of the old settlers left to tell the story. I think I can modestly say that we can point with pride to

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
who owned the land where the town of Doniphan was built, platted a town site, laid out the first lots, sold a number of lots and started the town, which was named Doniphan, in honor of Colonel Doniphan, who was attorney for the St. Joseph & Grand Island railway.
History of Hall County, Nebraska1920 · page 133Read the page →
Read the text

who owned the land where the town of Doniphan was built, platted a town site, laid out the first lots, sold a number of lots and started the town, which was named Doniphan, in honor of Colonel Doniphan, who was attorney for the St. Joseph & Grand Island railway.

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

Doniphan, 1874 to 1892

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Orchard post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Orchard post office closes
  4. 1879Post officeThe Doniphan post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Doniphan, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Doniphan, Nebraska W Main from SW2010Doniphan, Nebraska W Main from SWDoniphan, Nebraska W Main from SE2010Doniphan, Nebraska W Main from SE
People over time

Doniphan, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 829

Between 85 and 829 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Doniphan

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

See all →
Henry FondaAmerican actor · b. 1905
Sandy DennisAmerican actress · b. 1937
Ivan SutherlandAmerican computer scientist and Internet pioneer · b. 1938
Edith AbbottAmerican economist · b. 1876
N
Neal HeftiAmerican jazz trumpeter, composer, songwriter, … · b. 1922
George BairdAthletics competitor · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Doniphan’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Orchard, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orchard
1874–1879
Doniphan
1879–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Do-Mar Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Doniphanlocale

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

Questions about Doniphan’s history

What year was Doniphan founded?

The Doniphan post office opened in 1879, 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 →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, 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 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.