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History · Pleasanton

Pleasanton’s post office opened in 1890, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Pleasanton began

When was Pleasanton founded?

1890

The Pleasanton post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Riverview (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 103 in 19002020 census: 361136 years
Founding year: the first Pleasanton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pleasanton’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 Pleasanton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Pleasanton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pleasanton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasanton’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

Pleasanton on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Pleasanton on the 1896 USGS mapPleasanton on the 1962 USGS mapPleasanton on the 1985 USGS map1896Kearney 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 Pleasanton.

The story

How Pleasanton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasanton.

Read it all →

The village was platted in April 1890 when the Union Pacific constructed a branch line of railroad, the Omaha and Republican Valley Railway, from Boelus in Howard County through Ravenna and on to Pleasant Valley. The village was a terminus station for the branch line of railroad located on the north side of the South Loup River called Pleasant Valley. This was also the location of an early settlement called Peters' Bridge. The Peters family was one of the first settlers to the area when they constructed and operated the bridge. Peters' Bridge was the location of a station on the stagecoach and freight line that went north with supplies. A post office was located in an area called South Loup, near the bridge. This area of section 35 of the Loup Township was previously known as Riverview, when the post office was established in 1883. James Hunter became the first postmaster of Riverview. …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pleasanton, 1883 to 1896

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Riverview post office opens
  3. 1889Born hereWin Noyes is born here
  4. 1890Post officeThe Riverview post office closes
  5. 1890Post officeThe Pleasanton post office opens
  6. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pleasanton, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 42010Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 4Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 32010Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 3Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 22010Pleasanton, Nebraska downtown 2Pleasanton, Nebraska and South Loup2010Pleasanton, Nebraska and South LoupNEMap-doton-Pleasanton2005NEMap-doton-Pleasanton
People over time

Pleasanton, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 372

Between 103 and 372 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Pleasanton’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Riverview, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Riverview
1883–1890
Pleasanton
1890–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Pleasantonlocale

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

Questions about Pleasanton’s history

What year was Pleasanton founded?

The Pleasanton post office opened in 1890, 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 (5), 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.