The story
Read it all →How Hardy came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Hardy.
Hardy was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Hardy
Hardy’s post office opened in 1880, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1890.
1880first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Hardy began, and where its name came from
When was Hardy founded?
1880
The Hardy post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Spring Valley (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 343 in 18902020 census: 97146 years
How did Hardy get its name?
Hardy was named for a railroad official.
Founding year: the first Hardy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Hardy’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Hardy’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hardy’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Hardy, census by census
Peaked at 496 in 1910; 97 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hardy’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Hardy, 1875 to 1974
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1875Post officeThe Spring Valley post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Spring Valley post office closes
- 1880Post officeThe Hardy post office opens
- 1886Born hereFranklin David Keim is born here
- 20th century
- 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 496
- 1914Born hereHarry Sorensen is born here
- 1959
Born hereTony Hobson is born here - 1974
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Hardy, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2010
2005On the map
Hardy on the map, 1974 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hardy. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1974Hardy sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hardy.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Hardy
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Hardy’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Spring Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Spring Valley
Hardy
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hardy’s history
What year was Hardy founded?
The Hardy post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (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) 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.