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History · Holbrook

Holbrook’s post office opened in 1890, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Holbrook began

When was Holbrook founded?

1890

The Holbrook post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Burtons Bend (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 414 in 19102020 census: 201136 years
Founding year: the first Holbrook post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Holbrook’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 Holbrook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Holbrook’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 488 in 1930; 201 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holbrook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Holbrook’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 Holbrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Holbrook.

Read it all →

Holbrook was originally called Burton's Bend. When the railroad was built through the neighborhood circa 1880, the settlement was renamed Holbrook after a railroad official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Holbrook, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 488

Peaked at 488 in 1930; 201 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Holbrook, 1872 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Burtons Bend post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Burtons Bend post office closes
  4. 1890Post officeThe Holbrook post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 488
  7. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Holbrook, decade by decade

Today1 recent
NEMap-doton-Holbrook2005NEMap-doton-Holbrook
On the map

Holbrook on the map in 1958

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

Holbrook on the 1958 USGS map1958Holbrook 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 Holbrook.

Famous people

Famous people close to Holbrook

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

See all →
Ben Nelson37th Governor of Nebraska · b. 1941
Clayton Keith YeutterAmerican politician · b. 1930
M
Michael A. SchneiderAmerican politician · b. 1950
D
Donald Roe RossAmerican federal judge · b. 1922
G
Gary BenderAmerican sports commentator · b. 1940
D
Dorothy GrebenakAmerican artist · b. 1913
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Holbrook’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Burtons Bend, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burtons Bend
1872–1881
Holbrook
1890–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Burtons Bend Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Holbrook’s history

What year was Holbrook founded?

The Holbrook 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 (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.