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History · Madison Township

15% of Madison Township’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1898 on.

1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Madison 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 writtenNo old photos of Madison Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Madison Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Madison Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Madison Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Madison Township’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

Madison Township on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Madison Township on the 1898 USGS mapMadison Township on the 1969 USGS mapMadison Township on the 1985 USGS map1898York 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 Madison Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burress
1887–1942
Sawyer
1888–1888
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BurressSawyer
Gone or out of use
Burress Post Officepost officeFairmont Army Air FieldmilitarySawyerlocaleSawyer Post Officepost office

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

The story so far

Madison Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Madison Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Madison Township is one of fifteen townships in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 649 at the 2020 census. A portion of the city of Geneva lies within the township.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 555 to 621 (+12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Madison Township, 1887 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Burress post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Sawyer post office opens
  4. 1888Post officeThe Sawyer post office closes
  5. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1942Post officeThe Burress post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the National Register

1 listing protects 6 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Fairmont Army Airfield
Fairmont Army Airfield
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Aircraft Hangars1
Runways and Taxiways1
Apron1
Water Tower1
Oil Storage and Pump House1
Fairmont Army AirfieldAircraft Hangars

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Madison Township

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

See all →
R
Robert B. WilsonAmerican economist and Nobel laureate · b. 1937
Anna Louise StrongAmerican journalist · b. 1885
M
Madeleine LeiningerAmerican nurse and nursing theorist · b. 1925
Kate BarnardAmerican sociologist · b. 1875
Jeff ZelenyAmerican TV journalist · b. 1973
J
John E. NelsonAttorney and member of the Nebraska Legislature · b. 1935
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Liberty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChelsea TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townExeter-Fairmont Consolidated Township2 historic placesA

Questions about Madison Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Madison Township?

One place: the Fairmont Army Airfield (listed 2003).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.