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History · Hendley

Hendley’s post office opened in 1888, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1910.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Hendley began

When was Hendley founded?

1888

The Hendley post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lynden (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 238 in 19102020 census: 20138 years
Founding year: the first Hendley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hendley’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 Hendley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hendley’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hendley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hendley’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
The story

How Hendley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hendley.

Read it all →

Hendley was named by the railroad in 1887 when they built a new line to a small settlement called Lyndon that had existed since the 1870s.

A post office was established in Hendley in 1888 and, while no longer in a standalone building, remains in operation within the small convenience store located on the southeast corner of Grant Avenue and 3rd Street.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hendley, 1873 to 1896

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Lynden post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Lynden post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Hendley post office opens
  5. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hendley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Hendley, Nebraska NE892011Hendley, Nebraska NE89NEMap-doton-Hendley2005NEMap-doton-Hendley
On the map

Hendley on the map, 1896 to 1958

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

Hendley on the 1896 USGS mapHendley on the 1958 USGS map1896Arapahoe 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 Hendley.

People over time

Hendley, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 238

Between 20 and 238 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Hendley’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Lynden, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lynden
1873–1888
Hendley
1888–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Hendley Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Hendley’s history

What year was Hendley founded?

The Hendley post office opened in 1888, 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 (2), 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.