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History · McGrew

McGrew’s post office opened in 1911, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1920.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Flickr user Afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How McGrew began

When was McGrew founded?

1911

The McGrew post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 128 in 19202020 census: 75115 years
Founding year: the first McGrew post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about McGrew’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 McGrew 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 McGrew change.Old housesHalf of McGrew’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McGrew’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McGrew’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

McGrew on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

McGrew on the 1898 USGS mapMcGrew on the 1965 USGS mapMcGrew on the 1985 USGS map1898Camp Clarke 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 McGrew.

The story

How McGrew came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McGrew.

Read it all →

McGrew was incorporated as a village in 1911 when the Union Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. By 1912, it was home to a Presbyterian church, which ran services until 1971. McGrew boomed in the 1920s; at that time, businesses included several stores, a post office, a railway depot and grain elevator, a saloon, an industrial yard, agricultural buildings, and a hotel. The church was purchased by the Platte Valley Bible College and renamed the McGrew Community Church, and again renamed the Oregon Trail Chapel in 1986. A school was added in 1920. The post office shut down in 1986. Today, very few buildings are still in use and most are abandoned.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McGrew, 1898 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe McGrew post office opens
  5. 1986Post officeThe McGrew post office closes
By decade

McGrew, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Mcgrew merchantile2012Mcgrew merchantileMcGrew, Nebraska2012McGrew, NebraskaMcGrew, Nebraska2012McGrew, NebraskaMcGrew, Nebraska2012McGrew, NebraskaMcGrew, Nebraska2012McGrew, Nebraska
People over time

McGrew, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 139

Between 75 and 139 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to McGrew

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

See all →
Randy MeisnerAmerican musician and founding member of the Ea… · b. 1946
Adrian SmithAmerican politician · b. 1970
Robert G. SimmonsAmerican politician · b. 1891
J
J. McVicker HuntAmerican psychologist · b. 1906
K
Kelly StoufferAmerican football player · b. 1964
H
Hank BauerAmerican football player · b. 1954
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

McGrew had its own post office from 1911 to 1986.

McGrew
1911–1986
19101970today

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

Questions about McGrew’s history

What year was McGrew founded?

The McGrew post office opened in 1911, 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 (5), 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.