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History · Lyman

Lyman’s post office opened in 1921, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1930.

1921first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lyman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lyman began

When was Lyman founded?

1921

The Lyman post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 656 in 19302020 census: 259105 years
Founding year: the first Lyman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lyman’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lyman’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lyman’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 viewNebraska - Lyman - factory - constructi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lyman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lyman.

Read it all →

Lyman, less than a mile from the Wyoming border, is sited south of Horse Creek, a tributary of the North Platte River in western Nebraska. Due to its semi-arid climate, the area did not develop as early as other areas in the state with more moisture.

Lyman was incorporated as a village in 1922, when the Union Pacific Railroad was extended to that point.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lyman, 1899 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Post officeThe Lyman post office opens
  5. 1927In the archiveNebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927-edited
  6. 1953Born hereKeith G. Kautz is born here
By decade

Lyman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
Nebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927-edited1927Nebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927-editedNebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 19271927Nebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927
1930s–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
Today6 recent
Lyman, Nebraska from NW 22013Lyman, Nebraska from NW 2Lyman, Nebraska from NW 12013Lyman, Nebraska from NW 1Lyman, Nebraska downtown 32013Lyman, Nebraska downtown 3Lyman, Nebraska downtown 22013Lyman, Nebraska downtown 2Lyman, Nebraska downtown 12013Lyman, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Lyman2005NEMap-doton-Lyman
On the map

Lyman on the map, 1899 to 1990

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

Lyman on the 1899 USGS mapLyman on the 1990 USGS map1899Goshen Hole 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 Lyman.

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.

Nebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927-edited
Retake this viewNebraska - Lyman - factory - construction, 1927-edited, 1927

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lyman, census by census

010020030040050060070019401960198020002020Peak: 672

Between 259 and 672 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Lyman’s history

What year was Lyman founded?

The Lyman post office opened in 1921, 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 (8), 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) 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.