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History · Guide Rock

Guide Rock’s post office opened in 1871, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1890.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Guide Rock began

When was Guide Rock founded?

1871

The Guide Rock post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 336 in 18902020 census: 199155 years
Founding year: the first Guide Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Guide Rock’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 Guide Rock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Guide Rock change.Old housesHalf of Guide Rock’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 690 in 1910; 199 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Guide Rock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Guide Rock’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

Guide Rock on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Guide Rock on the 1898 USGS mapGuide Rock on the 1974 USGS mapGuide Rock on the 1985 USGS map1898Superior 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 Guide Rock.

The story

How Guide Rock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Guide Rock.

Read it all →

The first settlement at Guide Rock was made in 1870. Guide Rock was platted in 1873. The town was named after Guide Rock, a hill on the opposite bank of the Republican River.

A historical marker near the village marks the former site of a large Pawnee village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Guide Rock, 1871 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Guide Rock post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 690
  6. 1935Born hereLew Hunter is born here
By decade

Guide Rock, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 42010Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 4Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 32010Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 3Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 22010Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 2Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 12010Guide Rock, Nebraska downtown 1Guide Rock, Nebraska Pike marker2010Guide Rock, Nebraska Pike markerNEMap-doton-Guide Rock2005NEMap-doton-Guide Rock
People over time

Guide Rock, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 690

Peaked at 690 in 1910; 199 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Guide Rock’s history

What year was Guide Rock founded?

The Guide Rock post office opened in 1871, 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 (6), 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) 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.