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–Not graded
History · Duncan

Duncan’s post office opened in 1880, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lincoln Highway-Duncan West. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1920.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Duncan began

When was Duncan founded?

1880

The Duncan post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cherry Hill (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 182 in 19202020 census: 392146 years
Founding year: the first Duncan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Duncan’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 Duncan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Duncan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Duncan’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
The story

How Duncan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Duncan.

Read it all →

The transcontinental railroad reached the site of Duncan in 1866. Among the first settlers in the area were Polish and Swiss immigrants.

In June 1869, the post office of Cherry Hill was established on the site.

In October 1871, the townsite of Jackson was laid out by officials of the Union Pacific Railroad. Jackson was chosen in 1879 as the southern terminus of the Omaha, Niobrara, and Black Hills Railroad, a Union Pacific subsidiary, purportedly because railroad magnate Jay Gould was angry at the town of Columbus for promoting a rival railroad in the region.

The new name honored General Wood B. Duncan, a prominent onetime local resident.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Duncan, 1869 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Cherry Hill post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Cherry Hill post office closes
  4. 1880Post officeThe Duncan post office opens
  5. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Duncan, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Duncan, Nebraska 05 - Fire Department2023Duncan, Nebraska 05 - Fire DepartmentDuncan, Nebraska 04 - Fire Department2023Duncan, Nebraska 04 - Fire DepartmentDuncan, Nebraska 03 - Businesses2023Duncan, Nebraska 03 - BusinessesDuncan, Nebraska 02-Business area2023Duncan, Nebraska 02-Business areaDuncan, Nebraska 01-Post office and Town hall2023Duncan, Nebraska 01-Post office and Town hallDucks on a pond, in magnitude2021Ducks on a pond, in magnitudeDuncan, Nebraska downtown 8th Street2010Duncan, Nebraska downtown 8th StreetNEMap-doton-Duncan2005NEMap-doton-Duncan
On the map

Duncan on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Duncan on the 1899 USGS mapDuncan on the 1985 USGS map1899David City 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 Duncan.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Duncan

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
2007
Lincoln Highway-Duncan West
Lincoln Highway-Duncan West
Structures
All 1 listings
Lincoln Highway-Duncan WestStructure · listed 2007

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

People over time

Duncan, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 410

Between 182 and 410 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Duncan

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

See all →
Lucas CruikshankAmerican actor · b. 1993
Jim PillenGovernor of Nebraska since 2023 · b. 1955
B
Brad William HenkeAmerican actor and football player · b. 1966
John ArcherAmerican actor · b. 1915
J
John R. DunningAmerican physicist · b. 1907
Ray KegerisAmerican swimmer · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Duncan’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Cherry Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cherry Hill
1869–1880
Duncan
1880–today
18601940today

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.

Butler Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Duncan’s history

What year was Duncan founded?

The Duncan post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Duncan?

One place: the Lincoln Highway-Duncan West (listed 2007).

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 (7), the Library of Congress (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.