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History · Oakdale

Oakdale’s post office opened in 1872, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Oakdale began, and where its name came from

When was Oakdale founded?

1872

The Oakdale post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 276154 years

How did Oakdale get its name?

Oakdale was named from the numerous oak groves in the area.

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

What stands out about Oakdale’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 Oakdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oakdale’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakdale’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 Oakdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oakdale.

Read it all →

Oakdale was laid out and platted in 1872. It was named from the numerous oak groves in the area. Oakdale was incorporated as a village in 1882.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Oakdale in 1909

Passages that mention Oakdale, cut from the printed page as they were published.

very rapidly on the opening of spring in 1869. By the middle of May all the most desirable lands on the north side of the river had been taken up, to a point opposite the present town of Oakdale. On the first of June settlers began to come in on the south side of the river, the settlements also con…
A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 18831909 · page 46Read the page →
Read the text

very rapidly on the opening of spring in 1869. By the middle of May all the most desirable lands on the north side of the river had been taken up, to a point opposite the present town of Oakdale. On the first of June settlers began to come in on the south side of the river, the settlements also continuing to proceed westward along the river valley until, by the last of June, Clearwater Creek was reached, and in August the main valley was settled

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The board of commissioners examined the newly constructed railroad March 3, 1880, and reported that the road was completed to the county line December i, 1879, and to Oakdale December 7, 1879, and that the cars were running to Oakdale on that date, and that all conditions of the contract had been c…
A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 18831909 · page 155Read the page →
Read the text

The board of commissioners examined the newly constructed railroad March 3, 1880, and reported that the road was completed to the county line December i, 1879, and to Oakdale December 7, 1879, and that the cars were running to Oakdale on that date, and that all conditions of the contract had been complied with.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Oakdale, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Oakdale, Nebraska 5th St2010Oakdale, Nebraska 5th StNEMap-doton-Oakdale2005NEMap-doton-Oakdale
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Oakdale’s post office has been open since 1872.

Gone or out of use
OakdalelocaleOakdale Elementary Schoolschool

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

Questions about Oakdale’s history

What year was Oakdale founded?

The Oakdale post office opened in 1872, 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 →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.