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History · Lewellen

Lewellen’s post office opened in 1887, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lewellen State Aid Bridge. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1930.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lewellen began

When was Lewellen founded?

1887

The Lewellen post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 419 in 19302020 census: 175139 years
Founding year: the first Lewellen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lewellen’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 Lewellen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1985. Watch Lewellen change.Old housesHalf of Lewellen’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 532 in 1940; 175 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lewellen’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lewellen’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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On the map

Lewellen on the map, 1900 to 1985

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

Lewellen on the 1900 USGS mapLewellen on the 1971 USGS mapLewellen on the 1985 USGS map1900Chappell 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 Lewellen.

The story

How Lewellen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lewellen.

Read it all →

The site of the September 1855 Battle of Ash Hollow (also called the Battle of Blue Water Creek and Harney Massacre), part of the First Sioux War, is near the modern-day settlement of Lewellen. The United States Army, with 600 troops under the command of William Selby Harney, made a surprise punitive attack on a Brule Sioux encampment led by Chief Little Thunder, in retaliation for the Grattan incident. Army infantry and cavalry killed a total of 86 people, including women and children, and taking another 70 women and children as captives.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lewellen, 1887 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Lewellen post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 532
By decade

Lewellen, decade by decade

Today13 recent
2022-03-28 16 27 46 View northwest and down from an airplane toward the North Platte River and the village of20222022-03-28 16 27 46 View northwest and down from an a…Lewellen, Nebraska Main from US26 E side 12013Lewellen, Nebraska Main from US26 E side 1Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Parker E side 12013Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Parker E side 1Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Church E side 12013Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Church E side 1Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Church 12013Lewellen, Nebraska Main from Church 1Bank of Lewellen (Nebraska) from NW 12013Bank of Lewellen (Nebraska) from NW 1Lewellen P60605842012Lewellen P6060584Windpump Lewellen NE VGA2008Windpump Lewellen NE VGALewellen P71701862007Lewellen P7170186Lewellen P71701852007Lewellen P7170185NEMap-doton-Lewellen2005NEMap-doton-LewellenD-17c. Pioneer Grave at Ash Hollow Cemetery on the California, Mormon Pioneer, and Oregon National Historic Trails (200…2005D-17c. Pioneer Grave at Ash Hollow Cemetery on the Ca…D-17a. Windlass Hill on the California, Mormon Pioneer, and Oregon National Historic (2005)2005D-17a. Windlass Hill on the California, Mormon Pionee…
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lewellen

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
Lewellen State Aid Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Rigid-connected Pratt pony truss1
Lewellen State Aid BridgeRigid-connected Pratt pony truss

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

People over time

Lewellen, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 532

Peaked at 532 in 1940; 175 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Lewellen’s history

What year was Lewellen founded?

The Lewellen post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lewellen?

One place: the Lewellen State Aid Bridge (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 (13), 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.