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History · Hanover Township

Hanover Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hanover Township began

When was Hanover Township founded?

1879

The Hanover Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Townsend (1873), Hanover (1879) and Littlejohn (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 209147 years
Founding year: the first Hanover Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hanover Township’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 Hanover Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hanover Township.Old housesHalf of Hanover Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hanover Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hanover Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Townsend
1873–1902
Hanover
1879–1903
Littlejohn
1882–1884
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Evergreen SchoolschoolHartzell SchoolschoolLittle John SchoolschoolRemmers SchoolschoolTownsend Schoolschool

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

The story so far

Hanover Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hanover Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hanover Township is one of twenty-four townships in Gage County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 220 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 220.

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 216 to 209 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hanover Township, 1873 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Townsend post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Hanover post office opens
  4. 1882Post officeThe Littlejohn post office opens
  5. 1884Post officeThe Littlejohn post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Post officeThe Townsend post office closes
  8. 1903Post officeThe Hanover post office closes
  9. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Hanover Township on the map, 1964 to 1986

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

Hanover Township on the 1964 USGS mapHanover Township on the 1986 USGS map1964Pickrell 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 Hanover Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Hanover Township

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

See all →
Oliver KirkAmerican boxer · b. 1884
G
Gene L. CoonAmerican screenwriter, TV producer and novelist… · b. 1924
Roy BarcroftAmerican actor · b. 1902
Janet ShawAmerican actress · b. 1919
J
John P. FultonSpecial effects designer · b. 1902
Kevin MeyerAmerican politician · b. 1956
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Hooker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNemaha TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHolt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hanover Township’s history

What year was Hanover Township founded?

The Hanover Township post office opened in 1879, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.