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History · Martell

Martell’s post office opened in 1930, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on.

1930first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Martell began

When was Martell founded?

1930

The Martell post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Martel (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 12596 years
Founding year: the first Martell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Martell’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 Martell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18974 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1986. Watch Martell change.Old housesHalf of Martell’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martell’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
On the map

Martell on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Martell on the 1897 USGS mapMartell on the 1964 USGS mapMartell on the 1972 USGS mapMartell on the 1986 USGS map1897Lincoln 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 Martell.

The story

How Martell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Martell.

Read it all →

Martell was named after Charles Martel, the 8th-century Duke of the Franks. The community's name was also spelled Martel until the Board on Geographic Names officially decided in favor of "Martell" in 1896.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Martell, 1894 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Martel post office opens
  3. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930Post officeThe Martel post office closes
  6. 1930Post officeThe Martell post office opens
By decade

Martell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Martell, NE2014Martell, NE
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Martell’s post office has been open since 1930. Another post office, Martel, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Martel
1894–1930
Martell
1930–today
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Martelllocale

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

Questions about Martell’s history

What year was Martell founded?

The Martell post office opened in 1930, 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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.