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BHistory
History · Ord

Ord’s post office opened in 1873, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Valley County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ord’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ord began

When was Ord founded?

1873

The Ord post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 181 in 18802020 census: 2,113153 years

How historic is Ord?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Ord’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ord is more historic than 56% 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 Ord’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194027.2% of homes (±5.3) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 4.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NE town 16.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
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 Ord’s 4.8 sits below most of its state (30% 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Ord’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1924, drew every building in Ord.Old housesHalf of Ord’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ord’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ord’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Ord, building by building, 1892–1924

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.

Ord fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Ord came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ord.

Read it all →

Ord was platted in 1874. It is named in honor of Civil War general Edward O. C. Ord. Under the Union Pacific Railroad, the Omaha and Republican Valley Railway established the 59-mile (95 km) Ord Subdivision between Grand Island and Ord in 1886. Today, the subdivision is serviced by the Nebraska Central Railroad, a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation. The railway currently connects to Union Pacific's nationwide rail system and serves as a means of transportation for the agricultural produce of the Valley County area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ord, 1873 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Ord post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Valley County - Ord - ED 88-15
  4. 1885Born hereClyde E. Elliott is born here
  5. 1894Born hereMabel Gillespie is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907In the archiveSnow Scene in Ord Nebraska 1907
  8. 1950Born hereChris Peterson is born here
  9. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1968Born hereMike McCready is born here
By decade

Ord, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Valley County - Ord - ED 88-1518801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Va…Snow Scene in Ord Nebraska 19071907Snow Scene in Ord Nebraska 1907
1910s–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
Today4 recent
2022-03-24 17 37 36 UTC minus 5 View down from an airplane across western Greeley County and eastern Valley County in N…20222022-03-24 17 37 36 UTC minus 5 View down from an air…Ord, Nebraska L Street 12010Ord, Nebraska L Street 1Ord, Nebraska 16th Street 12010Ord, Nebraska 16th Street 1V103.9 KNLV FMLogo2008V103.9 KNLV FMLogo
On the map

Ord on the map, 1954 to 1985

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

Ord on the 1954 USGS mapOrd on the 1978 USGS mapOrd on the 1985 USGS map1954Ord 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 Ord.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Valley County - Ord - ED 88-15
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Valley County - Ord - ED 88-15, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ord

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
1990
Valley County Courthouse
Valley County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts1
Valley County CourthouseBeaux Arts

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

People over time

Ord, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,658

Between 181 and 2,658 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Ord

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

See all →
Clyde E. ElliottAmerican film director · b. 1885
C
Chris PetersonAmerican politician · b. 1950
M
Mabel GillespieAmerican politician · b. 1894
Mike McCreadyAmerican music entrepreneur · b. 1968
O
Orin A. KatesAmerican collage sports coach and administrator · b. 1883
R
Rod DowhowerAmerican football player and coach · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Ord’s post office has been open since 1873.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Kittles Trailer CourtManchester Trailer Court
1cemetery inside Ord
Ord

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

Questions about Ord’s history

What year was Ord founded?

The Ord post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ord rank for history?

Ord is more historic than 56% 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 Ord?

One place: the Valley County Courthouse (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Ord?

27% of Ord’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (6), 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), 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.