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History · Greenwood

Greenwood dates to 1869, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Greenwood began

When was Greenwood founded?

1869

Greenwood dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 179 in 18802020 census: 595157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓

What stands out about Greenwood’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 Greenwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19035 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1986. Watch Greenwood change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenwood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenwood’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
On the map

Greenwood on the map, 1903 to 1986

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

Greenwood on the 1903 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1929 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1966 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1972 USGS mapGreenwood on the 1986 USGS map1903Weeping Water 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 Greenwood.

The story

How Greenwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Greenwood.

Read it all →

Greenwood was founded circa 1869 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point. The community was named after Silas Greenwood, a pioneer settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Greenwood, 1869 to 1903

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingGreenwood is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Greenwood post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Greenwood, decade by decade

Today7 recent
An Amish buggy, used to interest passersby in little Greenwood, Nebraska, in the nearby Yoder furniture store2021An Amish buggy, used to interest passersby in little …BNSF 6194 Greenwood, NE 10-19-14 32014BNSF 6194 Greenwood, NE 10-19-14 3Greenwood, Nebraska from SW 22013Greenwood, Nebraska from SW 2Greenwood, Nebraska from SW 12013Greenwood, Nebraska from SW 1Greenwood, Nebraska Main from Broad 12013Greenwood, Nebraska Main from Broad 1Greenwood, Nebraska Broad from Third 12013Greenwood, Nebraska Broad from Third 1NEMap-doton-Greenwood2005NEMap-doton-Greenwood
People over time

Greenwood, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020595

Grew from 179 people in 1880 to 595 in 2020, 3 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Greenwood’s post office has been open since 1880.

Gone or out of use
Greenwood Schoolschool

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

Questions about Greenwood’s history

What year was Greenwood founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greenwood’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1880 counted 179 people here.

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 (6), the Library of Congress (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.