Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1900.
Kennard dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.
Kennard was named for Thomas P. Kennard, the first Secretary of State for Nebraska.
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 Kennard’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kennard. 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 Kennard.
From Wikipedia’s history of Kennard.
Kennard was established in 1869 when the Sioux City & Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Thomas P. Kennard, the first Secretary of State for Nebraska. The town was incorporated in 1895.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Kennard, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 1856 Levi and Marsh Kennard (both now residents of Omaha) established themselves in the mercantile line at De Soto, under the firm name of Kennard Bros. Tlios. P. Kennard, now of Lincoln, is also one of the early settlers of the town, where he practiced law and, later, kept a hotel.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveTruhlsen Saloon, Kennard NE c 1900
In the archiveUntitled photo2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kennard’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 273 and 381 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kennard’s Wikipedia page.
In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kennard’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1900 counted 275 people here.
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 (6), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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