Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lewiston

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 · Lewiston

Lewiston dates to 1886, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1910.

1886founded
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Lewiston began

When was Lewiston founded?

1886

Lewiston dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 127 in 19102020 census: 55140 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lewiston’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 Lewiston are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 187 in 1930; 55 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Lewiston’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lewiston’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lewiston’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
People over time

Lewiston, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 187

Peaked at 187 in 1930; 55 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Lewiston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lewiston.

Read it all →

Lewiston was platted in 1886 when the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was extended to that point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lewiston, 1886 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886
    FoundingLewiston is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Lewiston post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 187
  6. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lewiston, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lewiston, NE2017Lewiston, NENEMap-doton-Lewiston2005NEMap-doton-Lewiston
On the map

Lewiston on the map, 1965 to 1986

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

Lewiston on the 1965 USGS mapLewiston on the 1986 USGS map1965Lewiston 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 Lewiston.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Lewiston’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Lewistonlocale

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

Questions about Lewiston’s history

What year was Lewiston founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lewiston’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1910 counted 127 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 (2), 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.