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History · Paxton

Paxton’s post office opened in 1885, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1910.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Paxton began

When was Paxton founded?

1885

The Paxton post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Alkali (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 179 in 19102020 census: 516141 years
Founding year: the first Paxton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paxton’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 Paxton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Paxton change.Old housesHalf of Paxton’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paxton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paxton’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
On the map

Paxton on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Paxton on the 1898 USGS mapPaxton on the 1901 USGS mapPaxton on the 1985 USGS map1898Paxton sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paxton.

The story

How Paxton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paxton.

Read it all →

Paxton, Nebraska, originally known as Alkali, owes its early existence to the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad in the late 1860s. The town's name reflected the high alkaline content of the soil in the area. This small but resilient community began as a simple siding along the Union Pacific Railroad, complete with a telegraph station, water tower, and depot. Its roots trace back to Edwin Searle Sr., an 18-year-old telegraph operator who arrived in 1867. Living initially in a tent, Searle quickly became a notable figure in the settlement's early days, and his son, Edwin Searle Jr., born in 1873, holds the distinction of being the first white child born in Keith County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paxton, 1883 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Alkali post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Alkali post office closes
  4. 1885Post officeThe Paxton post office opens
  5. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1916Born hereBill Callihan is born here
By decade

Paxton, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Even mysterious woodland creatures, or metal-art likenesses of them, have the Christmas spirit2021Even mysterious woodland creatures, or metal-art like…A cattle feed lot outside Paxton, Nebraska2021A cattle feed lot outside Paxton, Nebraska20170821 091 Swede's Bar, Paxton, Nebraska - Flickr - davidwilson1949201720170821 091 Swede's Bar, Paxton, Nebraska - Flickr -…Rusty Ford Truck, Old Metal, NB 7-25-132013Rusty Ford Truck, Old Metal, NB 7-25-13"No More Gas" Paxton, Nebraska 7-24-132013"No More Gas" Paxton, Nebraska 7-24-13"Ghost of a Farm" Paxton, Nebraska 7-24-13f2013"Ghost of a Farm" Paxton, Nebraska 7-24-13fPaxton, Nebraska downtown 42011Paxton, Nebraska downtown 4Paxton, Nebraska downtown 32011Paxton, Nebraska downtown 3Paxton, Nebraska downtown 22011Paxton, Nebraska downtown 2Paxton, Nebraska downtown 12011Paxton, Nebraska downtown 1Everyone Left2011Everyone LeftNEMap-doton-Paxton2005NEMap-doton-Paxton
People over time

Paxton, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 614

Between 179 and 614 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Paxton’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Alkali, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alkali
1883–1885
Paxton
1885–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Paxton’s history

What year was Paxton founded?

The Paxton post office opened in 1885, 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 →
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), 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.