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History · Friend

Friend’s post office opened in 1874, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Richard R. Kiddle House and the Warren's Opera House. Its Register listings are the Richard R. Kiddle House and the Warren's Opera House. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1874first post office
2on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Friend began

When was Friend founded?

1874

The Friend post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Friendville (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 555 in 18802020 census: 954152 years
Founding year: the first Friend post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Friend’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 Friend are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,347 in 1890; 954 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1909, drew every building in Friend.Old housesHalf of Friend’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Friend’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Friend’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

Friend, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,347

Peaked at 1,347 in 1890; 954 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Friend, building by building, 1889–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Friend fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Friend came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Friend.

Read it all →

The city is named for Charles E. Friend, who homesteaded the land and initially named the community Friendville. He operated a dry goods store and post office. In 1873 the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad named its new train station there "Friend."

The National Greyhound Association was founded in the community in 1906 (called at the time National Coursing Association).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Friend, 1871 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Friendville post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Friendville post office closes
  4. 1874Post officeThe Friend post office opens
  5. 1885Born hereAnna Louise Strong is born here
  6. 1886BuiltRichard R. Kiddle House is built
  7. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 1,347
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Born hereElvin C. Drake is born here
  10. 1918Born hereJohn L. Loos is born here
  11. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1971Born hereJana Hughes is born here
By decade

Friend, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Center Harp Wigwag, Friend, Neb., May 19802016Center Harp Wigwag, Friend, Neb., May 1980Friend, Nebraska police station from SW 12013Friend, Nebraska police station from SW 1Friend, Nebraska downtown 52012Friend, Nebraska downtown 5Friend, Nebraska downtown 42012Friend, Nebraska downtown 4Friend, Nebraska downtown 32012Friend, Nebraska downtown 3Friend, Nebraska downtown 22012Friend, Nebraska downtown 2Friend, Nebraska downtown 12012Friend, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Friend2007NEMap-doton-Friend
On the map

Friend on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Friend on the 1966 USGS mapFriend on the 1985 USGS map1966Friend 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 Friend.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Friend

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Richard R. Kiddle House
Richard R. Kiddle House, built 1886Warren's Opera House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
French Second Empire Style1
Two-part Commercial Block1
Richard R. Kiddle HouseVictorian · Built 1886
All 2 listings
Warren's Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1988

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Friend

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Anna Louise StrongAmerican journalist · b. 1885
J
John L. LoosAmerican historian · b. 1918
E
Elvin C. DrakeHead coach of the University of California, Los… · b. 1903
J
Jana HughesAmerican politician · b. 1971
K
Kevin HenkeAmerican geochemist · b. 1957
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Friend’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Friendville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Friendville
1871–1874
Friend
1874–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Friend’s history

What year was Friend founded?

The Friend post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Friend?

Two places: the Richard R. Kiddle House (listed 1985) and the Warren's Opera House (1988).

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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.