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History · Oak

Oak’s post office opened in 1874, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1910.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Oak began, and where its name came from

When was Oak founded?

1874

The Oak post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 237 in 19102020 census: 54152 years

How did Oak get its name?

Oak was named from nearby Oak Creek.

Founding year: the first Oak post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Oak’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 Oak 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 Oak change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oak’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak’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

Oak on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Oak on the 1898 USGS mapOak on the 1960 USGS mapOak on the 1985 USGS map1898Hebron 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 Oak.

The story

How Oak came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oak.

Read it all →

The first settlement was made in the Oak area in the 1860s. Oak was platted on its current site in 1888 when the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad was extended to that point. It was named from nearby Oak Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oak, 1874 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Oak post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1934Born hereRuss Snyder is born here
By decade

Oak, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Oak, Nebraska downtown 22010Oak, Nebraska downtown 2Oak, Nebraska downtown 12010Oak, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Oak2005NEMap-doton-Oak
People over time

Oak, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 237

Between 54 and 237 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Oak’s post office has been open since 1874.

Gone or out of use
Oaklocale

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

Questions about Oak’s history

What year was Oak founded?

The Oak post office opened in 1874, 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 (3), 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) 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.