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History · Paddock Township

Paddock Township’s post office opened in 1875, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Paddock Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Paddock Township began

When was Paddock Township founded?

1875

The Paddock Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Paddock (1875) and Meek (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 89151 years
Founding year: the first Paddock Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Paddock Township’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 Paddock Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Paddock Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Paddock Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paddock Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paddock Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Paddock
1875–1933
Meek
1899–1933
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MeekMidwayPaddock
Gone or out of use
Meek Post Officepost officePaddock Post Officepost office

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

The story so far

Paddock Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Paddock Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Paddock Township is one of thirty-seven townships in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 68 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 68. Paddock Township was named for Algernon Paddock, a U.S. Senator from Nebraska. Paddock Township is the site of a small settlement on the Niobrara River called Paddock. From 1876 to 1879 this settlement was the county seat of Holt County.

Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 71 to 89 (+25%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Paddock Township, 1875 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Paddock post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Meek post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933Post officeThe Paddock post office closes
  6. 1933Post officeThe Meek post office closes
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Paddock Township on the map, 1954 to 1986

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

Paddock Township on the 1954 USGS mapPaddock Township on the 1986 USGS map1954Meek NE 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 Paddock Township.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 9 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Rouse Ranch
Rouse Ranch
Districts
Rouse RanchDistrict

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Paddock Township

Nobody well known was born in Paddock Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
H
Harry OwensAmerican songwriter · b. 1902
B
Bernie SchererAmerican football player · b. 1913
James A. DonohoeUnited States federal judge · b. 1877
D
Debra KolsteAmerican politician in Wisconsin · b. 1953
Francis C. WhelanUnited States federal judge · b. 1907
Frank LeahyAmerican college football coach · b. 1907
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bristow TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScott TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColeman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShields TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock Falls TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Paddock Township’s history

What year was Paddock Township founded?

The Paddock Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Paddock Township?

One place: the Rouse Ranch (listed 2013).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.