Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Leshara Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Leshara Township

Leshara Township dates to 1905

Most of Leshara Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1910.

1905founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Leshara Township began

When was Leshara Township founded?

1905

Leshara Township dates its founding to 1905 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 86 in 19102020 census: 574121 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1906.The full story ↓

What stands out about Leshara Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1982. Watch Leshara Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leshara Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLeshara Township (1916): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Leshara Township on the map, 1893 to 1982

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

Leshara Township on the 1893 USGS mapLeshara Township on the 1968 USGS mapLeshara Township on the 1982 USGS map1893Fremont 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 Leshara Township.

The story

How Leshara Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leshara Township.

Read it all →

Leshara was founded in 1905 when the Great Northern Railway established a station there. In early October, the S. C. & W. Townsite Company purchased 50 acres of land from Joseph Lammel on which to build the town. By the end of the month, commercial lots were being sold for $600 each. The first business construction in Leshara was a lumberyard operated by the Zaugg brothers of Yutan. Residential lots were on sale in November.

Leshara's name honors an important Pawnee chief, Petalesharo, who lived in the area during the 19th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Leshara Township, 1893 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905
    FoundingLeshara Township is established
  5. 1916In the archiveLeshara Township (1916)
By decade

Leshara Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Leshara Township (1916)1916Leshara Township (1916)
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Main Street2017Main StreetNEMap-doton-Leshara2005NEMap-doton-Leshara
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Leshara Township (1916)
Retake this viewLeshara Township (1916), 1916

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Leshara Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Leshara Township, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 133

Between 61 and 133 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Leshara Township

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

See all →
Marg HelgenbergerAmerican actress · b. 1958
Jordan LarsonVolleyball player · b. 1986
Harold Eugene EdgertonAmerican engineer and inventor · b. 1903
Julie SommarsAmerican actress · b. 1940
R
Royal RifeAmerican inventor · b. 1888
William L. ArmstrongAmerican politician · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Woodcliff
Gone or out of use
Woodclifflocale
1cemetery inside Leshara Township
Pleasant View

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Union TownshipIts storyCPohocco TownshipIts storyC−ValleyIts storyC−Marietta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Leshara Township’s history

What year was Leshara Township founded?

In 1905, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Leshara Township’s post office opened in 1906, and the census of 1910 counted 86 people here.

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.