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History · Hershey

Hershey’s post office opened in 1890, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

1890first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hershey began, and where its name came from

When was Hershey founded?

1890

The Hershey post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, O'fallon's (1859) and O'fallon (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 649136 years

How did Hershey get its name?

Hershey was named for J. H. Hershey, a pioneer settler.

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

What stands out about Hershey’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 Hershey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hershey.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hershey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hershey’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

Hershey’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

O'fallon's
1859–1864
O'fallon
1883–1890
Hershey
1890–today
18501940today

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

The story

How Hershey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hershey.

Read it all →

Hershey was established as a station on the Union Pacific Railroad. It was named for J. H. Hershey, a pioneer settler. The locations of the pre-existing O'Fallon's and Nichol's Stations are shown on an 1884 map of Lincoln County. An 1894 map shows the Hershey Station, to the west of Nichol's Station. The original town—consisting of 24 lots laid out in two square blocks—was platted on February 5, 1892, by Annie S. Guthrie.

ChaptersBeginningsHershey in 1900From 1900 to 1920Agricultural contextFurther immigration

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hershey, 1859 to 1894

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe O'fallon's post office opens
  3. 1864Post officeThe O'fallon's post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe O'fallon post office opens
  5. 1890Post officeThe O'fallon post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Hershey post office opens
  7. 1894Born hereWalt Golvin is born here
By decade

Hershey, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Hershey, Nebraska downtown 42011Hershey, Nebraska downtown 4Hershey, Nebraska downtown 32011Hershey, Nebraska downtown 3Hershey, Nebraska downtown 22011Hershey, Nebraska downtown 2Hershey, Nebraska downtown 12011Hershey, Nebraska downtown 1Freight Train in2010Freight Train inNEMap-doton-Hershey2005NEMap-doton-Hershey

Questions about Hershey’s history

What year was Hershey founded?

The Hershey post office opened in 1890, 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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.