The story
Read it all →How Norman came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Norman.
Norman was platted in 1887. It was named for John and Carl Norman, the original owners of the town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Norman
Norman’s post office opened in 1887, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1920.
1887first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Norman began, and where its name came from
When was Norman founded?
1887
The Norman post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 127 in 19202020 census: 32139 years
How did Norman get its name?
Norman was named for John and Carl Norman, the original owners of the town site.
Founding year: the first Norman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Norman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Norman’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Norman’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Norman on the map, 1897 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Norman. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Red Cloud sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Norman.
By decade
Norman, decade by decade
2010
2010
2005People over time
Norman, census by census
Between 32 and 127 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Norman’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Norman
Nobody well known was born in Norman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
N
Neal HeftiAmerican jazz trumpeter, composer, songwriter, … · b. 1922
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Norman’s post office has been open since 1887.
Gone or out of use
Normanlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Norman’s history
What year was Norman founded?
The Norman 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.
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.