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North Loup, Nebraska downtownPhoto: Ammodramus · Public domain
–Not graded
History · North Loup Township

North Loup Township’s post office opened in 1873, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the North Loup Bridge. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1890.

1873first post office
1on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How North Loup Township began

When was North Loup Township founded?

1873

The North Loup Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 386 in 18902020 census: 384153 years
Founding year: the first North Loup Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about North Loup 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 North Loup Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of North Loup Township’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 657 in 1930; 254 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Loup Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Loup 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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The story

How North Loup Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Loup Township.

Read it all →

In 1871, a party of Seventh Day Baptists from Wisconsin explored Valley County for settlement sites. In May 1872, they established a community near what is now North Loup. A post office and general store were established in 1873. In 1877, the town of North Loup was formally organized. The name was taken from the North Loup River, in whose valley the village lies.

In 1880, the Union Pacific Railroad completed a branch line from Grand Island to St. Paul, shortening the distance from the Valley County settlements to rail transport. In the following year, North Loup and Ord voted to issue $9,000 worth of bonds to help subsidize the railroad's extension through the two towns. The rail connection from St. Paul to North Loup was completed in 1882.

Chapters2010 flood

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

North Loup Township, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 657

Peaked at 657 in 1930; 254 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

North Loup Township, 1913 to 1954

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913BuiltNorth Loup Bridge is built
  3. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 657
  4. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

North Loup Township, decade by decade

Today4 recent
2022-03-24 17 37 51 UTC minus 5 View down from an airplane across western Greeley County and eastern Valley County in N…20222022-03-24 17 37 51 UTC minus 5 View down from an air…2022-03-24 17 37 36 UTC minus 5 View down from an airplane across western Greeley County and eastern Valley County in N…20222022-03-24 17 37 36 UTC minus 5 View down from an air…2022-03-24 17 37 07 UTC minus 5 View down from an airplane across western Greeley County and eastern Valley County in N…20222022-03-24 17 37 07 UTC minus 5 View down from an air…North Loup, Nebraska downtown2010North Loup, Nebraska downtown
On the map

North Loup Township on the map, 1954 to 1985

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

North Loup Township on the 1954 USGS mapNorth Loup Township on the 1985 USGS map1954Ord SE 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 North Loup Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in North Loup Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
North Loup Bridge
North Loup Bridge, built 1913
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pin-connected Pratt through truss1
North Loup BridgePin-connected Pratt through truss · Built 1913

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Olean
1cemetery inside North Loup Township
Hillside

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ord Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about North Loup Township’s history

What year was North Loup Township founded?

The North Loup Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in North Loup Township?

One place: the North Loup Bridge (listed 1992).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.