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History · Foster

Foster’s post office opened in 1886, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1910.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Foster began

When was Foster founded?

1886

The Foster post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 122 in 19102020 census: 42140 years
Founding year: the first Foster post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Foster’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 Foster are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Foster’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foster’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foster’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 Foster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Foster.

Read it all →

A post office was established in Foster in 1886, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 2002. The community was named for George Foster, an original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Foster, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Foster, Nebraska 32012Foster, Nebraska 3Foster, Nebraska 22012Foster, Nebraska 2Foster, Nebraska 12012Foster, Nebraska 1NEMap-doton-Foster2005NEMap-doton-Foster
On the map

Foster on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

Foster on the 1963 USGS mapFoster on the 1985 USGS map1963Foster 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 Foster.

People over time

Foster, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 140

Between 42 and 140 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Foster’s post office has been open since 1886.

Gone or out of use
Fosterlocale

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

Questions about Foster’s history

What year was Foster founded?

The Foster post office opened in 1886, 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), 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.