Plattsmouth was first counted by the census in 1860, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #10 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 45 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plattsmouth is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #10 of 57 in Nebraska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plattsmouth’s overall grade.
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 Plattsmouth’s 80.2 sits above most of its state (83% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Plattsmouth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The area that would become Plattsmouth was long inhabited by the Otoe tribe before European exploration. In 1739, French explorers Pierre and Paul Mallet reached the confluence of the Platte and Missouri rivers while traveling westward. In 1848, Libeas T. Coon established a ferry across the Missouri River to convey Mormon emigrants traveling westward to Utah.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street Plattsmouth, on July 21, 1804.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Plattsmouth’s post office has been open since 1867. Another post office, Platte's Mouth, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Platte's Mouth
1854–1867
Plattsmouth
1867–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Accent Mobile Home ParksHill City Mobile Home ParkHiVue Mobile Home ParkRoberts Mobile Home CourtSouth Side Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Central Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Plattsmouth
Oak Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Plattsmouth’s history
What year was Plattsmouth founded?
The Plattsmouth post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Plattsmouth rank for history?
Plattsmouth is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #10 of 57 in Nebraska. 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 Plattsmouth?
12 listings: 10 buildings, among them the McLaughlin-Waugh-Dovey House (listed 1980, the first), 1 historic district, the Plattsmouth Main Street Historic District, with 45 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 54 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Plattsmouth?
25% of Plattsmouth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (12), 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.
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