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History · Madrid

Madrid’s post office opened in 1887, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Madrid began, and where its name came from

When was Madrid founded?

1887

The Madrid post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elliston (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 178 in 18902020 census: 242139 years

How did Madrid get its name?

Madrid was named after Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Founding year: the first Madrid post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Madrid’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 Madrid are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 6-fold.Old housesHalf of Madrid’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Madrid’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Madrid’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

Madrid, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020178 in 1890Low: 35

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 6-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Madrid came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Madrid.

Read it all →

Madrid was platted in 1887 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named after Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Madrid, 1886 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Elliston post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Elliston post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Madrid post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 449
  7. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Madrid, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Madrid, Nebraska downtown 22011Madrid, Nebraska downtown 2Madrid, Nebraska downtown 12011Madrid, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Madrid2005NEMap-doton-Madrid
On the map

Madrid on the map in 1973

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madrid.

Madrid on the 1973 USGS map1973Madrid 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 Madrid.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Madrid’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Elliston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elliston
1886–1887
Madrid
1887–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Madrid’s history

What year was Madrid founded?

The Madrid post office opened in 1887, 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 (3), 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.