Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #26 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1880.
O'Neill dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
O'Neill was named for one of its founders, John O'Neill.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, O'Neill is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #26 of 57 in Nebraska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so O'Neill’s 22.4 sits above most of its state (67% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how O'Neill’s history is told.
O'Neill’s post office has been open since 1883. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of O'Neill.
O'Neill was platted in 1874. It was named for one of its founders, John O'Neill. O'Neill was originally settled largely by Irish immigrants.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereJames A. Donohoe is born here
Born hereFrancis C. Whelan is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of O'Neill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of O'Neill.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 57 and 4,049 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on O'Neill’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. O'Neill’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 57 people here.
O'Neill is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #26 of 57 in Nebraska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Old Nebraska State Bank Building (listed 1974, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.
19% of O'Neill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1965.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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