The story
Read it all →How Orchard came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Orchard.
Orchard was founded in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. It took its name from local apple orchards.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Orchard
Orchard dates to 1880, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1910.
1880founded
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Orchard began
When was Orchard founded?
1880
Orchard dates its founding to 1880 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 532 in 19102020 census: 363146 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
What stands out about Orchard’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Orchard’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orchard’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Orchard, 1880 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1880FoundingOrchard is established
- 1881Post officeThe Orchard post office opens
- 20th century
- 1910
In the archiveBirds eye view of Orchard, Nebr - 1963
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Orchard, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s1 item
1920s–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
2010
2010
2005On the map
Orchard on the map, 1963 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orchard. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Orchard sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Orchard.
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.
Retake this viewBirds eye view of Orchard, Nebr, 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Orchard’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Orchard, census by census
Between 363 and 532 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Orchard’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Orchard’s history
What year was Orchard founded?
In 1880, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Orchard’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1910 counted 532 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.