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History · Henry

Henry’s post office opened in 1909, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Henry State Aid Bridges. Below: maps from 1990 on and the census since 1920.

1909first post office
1on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Henry began, and where its name came from

When was Henry founded?

1909

The Henry post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 129 in 19202020 census: 125117 years

How did Henry get its name?

Henry was named for Henry Nichols, the late son of the original owner of the town site.

Founding year: the first Henry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Henry’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 Henry are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 176 in 1940; 125 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Henry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Henry’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Henry, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 176

Peaked at 176 in 1940; 125 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Henry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Henry.

Read it all →

Henry was founded in 1909 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Henry Nichols, the late son of the original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Henry, 1909 to 1990

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909Post officeThe Henry post office opens
  3. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 176
  4. 1990On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Henry, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Henry, Nebraska downtown 22012Henry, Nebraska downtown 2Henry, Nebraska downtown 12012Henry, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Henry2005NEMap-doton-Henry
On the map

Henry on the map in 1990

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henry.

Henry on the 1990 USGS map1990Lyman 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 Henry.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Henry

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Henry State Aid Bridges
Henry State Aid Bridges
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete filled spandrel arch1
Henry State Aid BridgesConcrete filled spandrel arch

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Henry

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

See all →
Randy MeisnerAmerican musician and founding member of the Ea… · b. 1946
Adrian SmithAmerican politician · b. 1970
Frank HopkinsAmerican horseman · b. 1865
William Kent KruegerAmerican author and novelist · b. 1950
Michael PunkeAmerican jurist and lawyer · b. 1964
Stephanie A. BurnsAmerican organosilicon chemist and businesswoman · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Henry’s post office has been open since 1909.

Gone or out of use
Henry Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Henry’s history

What year was Henry founded?

The Henry post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Henry?

One place: the Henry State Aid Bridges (listed 1992).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.