Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1890.
The Harrison post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrison’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Harrison.
Harrison was originally called Bowen, and under that name was platted in 1886, when the Fremont, Elkhorn, & Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. It was renamed Harrison in 1887, in honor of Benjamin Harrison. Harrison was incorporated in 1889.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 500 in 1940; 239 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Harrison’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
2010Harrison, Nebraska museum 1
2010Harrison, Nebraska from N
2010Harrison, Nebraska Zurcher's Garage
2010Harrison, Nebraska US20 from W
2010Harrison, Nebraska Main from S 4
2010Harrison, Nebraska Main from S 3
2010Harrison, Nebraska Main from S 2
2010Harrison, Nebraska Main from S 1
2010Harrison, Nebraska Main from 3rd
2010Harrison, Nebraska Longhorn Saloon
2010Harrison, Nebraska Kountry Baskets Cafe
2010Harrison, Nebraska Hoyt Block
2010Harrison, Nebraska Harrison Hotel 1
2010Harrison, Nebraska Corner Market
2010Harrison, Nebraska 2 x Main SW
2010Harrison, Nebraska 2 x Main NW 2
2010Harrison, Nebraska 2 x Main NW 1
2010Harrison, Nebraska 2 x Main NEEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Harrison. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Harrison.
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.
1902Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Harrison’s post office has been open since 1886.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Harrison post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Sioux County Courthouse (listed 1990).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
