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History · Lindsay

Lindsay’s post office opened in 1874, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1890.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Lindsay began

When was Lindsay founded?

1874

The Lindsay post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 125 in 18902020 census: 283152 years
Founding year: the first Lindsay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lindsay’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 Lindsay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 490 in 1920; 283 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lindsay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lindsay’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

Lindsay, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 490

Peaked at 490 in 1920; 283 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Lindsay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lindsay.

Read it all →

In 1862, subject to the provisions of the Homestead Act, Families began settling in the fertile land near Shell Creek. Lindsay was platted in 1886. A large share of the early settlers being natives of Lindsay, Ontario, Canada caused the name to be selected. Lindsay was incorporated as a village on March 7, 1888.

By the early 20th century, Lindsay had an electric utility and water system comprising a 100-ft well and a 60,000-gallon tank.

The Chicago and North Western Railroad's Albion Line consisted of 115 miles of tracks through Lindsay, on which were operated four freight trains and two passenger trains daily. By 1917, the population of Lindsay had grown to almost 500 people.

ChaptersFounding and namingEarly 20th centuryLindsay Corporation

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lindsay, 1874 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Lindsay post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 490
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lindsay, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Holy Family High School2018Holy Family High SchoolLindsay, Nebraska from W2010Lindsay, Nebraska from WLindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 42010Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 4Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 32010Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 3Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 22010Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 2Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 12010Lindsay, Nebraska Pine Street 1NEMap-doton-Lindsay2005NEMap-doton-Lindsay
On the map

Lindsay on the map, 1966 to 1985

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

Lindsay on the 1966 USGS mapLindsay on the 1985 USGS map1966Lindsay 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 Lindsay.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lindsay

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

See all →
Alfred GruentherUnited States Army general · b. 1899
A
Armitage TrailAmerican crime writer · b. 1902
B
Bonnie C. TempletonAmerican botanist · b. 1906
Francis P. Matthews8th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus · b. 1887
Horace L. McBrideUnited States general · b. 1894
M
Max CarlAmerican musician · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Lindsay’s post office has been open since 1874.

Gone or out of use
Lindsaylocale

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

Questions about Lindsay’s history

What year was Lindsay founded?

The Lindsay post office opened in 1874, 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 (7), 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.