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B+History
History · Oakland

Oakland’s post office opened in 1868, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Oakland City Auditorium. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1880.

1868first post office
1on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oakland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oakland began

When was Oakland founded?

1868

The Oakland post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 345 in 18802020 census: 1,369158 years

How historic is Oakland?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Oakland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oakland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakland is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oakland’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194048.1% of homes (±8.7) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 6.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NE town 16.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder

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 Oakland’s 6.4 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 →

What stands out about Oakland’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oakland’s homes were built before 1950.Famous sons and daughtersJon Kyl, Val Peterson and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA E Hanna: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Oakland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oakland.

Read it all →

The Oakland Independent newspaper was established in the 1880s. Oakland-Craig Public School is shared with the nearby village of Craig, Nebraska.

Oakland was home to the Swedish Basketball Classic from 1993 to 2006, which has since moved to Midland University in Fremont and changed its name to the Warrior Classic. Oakland has also been home to the Burt County Fair since 1913.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Oakland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jon KylAmerican politician · b. 1942
Val PetersonAmerican diplomat · b. 1903
Mary ConnealyAuthor · b. 1956
M
Maxine MoulLieutenant Governor of Nebraska · b. 1947
C
Curt BrommAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1945
M
Matt ConnealyAmerican politician · b. 1951
Timeline

Oakland, 1868 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Oakland post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Born hereVal Peterson is born here
  5. 1920In the archiveA E Hanna
  6. 1942Born hereJon Kyl is born here
  7. 1947Born hereMaxine Moul is born here
  8. 1956Born hereMary Connealy is born here
  9. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Oakland, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
A E Hannac. 1920A E Hanna
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Oakland-Craig School2025Oakland-Craig SchoolNebraska Historical Marker2025Nebraska Historical MarkerFranciscan Healthcare2025Franciscan HealthcareOakland Independent building2021Oakland Independent buildingOakland, Nebraska street sign Dala horses2010Oakland, Nebraska street sign Dala horsesOakland, Nebraska Swedish Heritage Center2010Oakland, Nebraska Swedish Heritage CenterOakland, Nebraska Oakland from 2nd 22010Oakland, Nebraska Oakland from 2nd 2Oakland, Nebraska Oakland from 2nd 12010Oakland, Nebraska Oakland from 2nd 1NEMap-doton-Oakland2005NEMap-doton-Oakland
On the map

Oakland on the map, 1966 to 1986

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

Oakland on the 1966 USGS mapOakland on the 1986 USGS map1966Oakland 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 Oakland.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

A E Hanna
Retake this viewA E Hanna, c. 1920

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oakland’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oakland

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
2019
Oakland City Auditorium
Oakland City Auditorium
Buildings
All 1 listings
Oakland City AuditoriumBuilding · listed 2019

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

People over time

Oakland, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,456

Between 345 and 1,456 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oakland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBell Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oakland’s history

What year was Oakland founded?

The Oakland post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Oakland rank for history?

Oakland is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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.

What is on the National Register in Oakland?

One place: the Oakland City Auditorium (listed 2019).

How old are the homes in Oakland?

48% of Oakland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1950.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.