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History · Plymouth

Plymouth’s post office opened in 1872, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1900.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Plymouth began

When was Plymouth founded?

1872

The Plymouth post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cub Creek (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 195 in 19002020 census: 364154 years
Founding year: the first Plymouth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Plymouth’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 Plymouth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 506 in 1980; 364 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plymouth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plymouth’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
People over time

Plymouth, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 506

Peaked at 506 in 1980; 364 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Plymouth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Plymouth.

Read it all →

Plymouth was founded in 1872 by a colony of settlers from New England, who named the settlement after Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the railroad was built through the neighborhood in 1884, the town moved approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) in order to be situated on the new line.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Plymouth, 1870 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Cub Creek post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Plymouth post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1972Post officeThe Cub Creek post office closes
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 506
By decade

Plymouth, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Plymouth, Nebraska corn pile 12013Plymouth, Nebraska corn pile 1Plymouth, Nebraska Main from Madison N side 12013Plymouth, Nebraska Main from Madison N side 1Plymouth, Nebraska Main from Jefferson N side 12013Plymouth, Nebraska Main from Jefferson N side 1NEMap-doton-Plymouth2005NEMap-doton-Plymouth
On the map

Plymouth on the map, 1957 to 1980

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

Plymouth on the 1957 USGS mapPlymouth on the 1980 USGS map1957Plymouth 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 Plymouth.

Famous people

Famous people close to Plymouth

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

See all →
Oliver KirkAmerican boxer · b. 1884
W
Willard SchmidtBasketball player · b. 1910
G
Gene L. CoonAmerican screenwriter, TV producer and novelist… · b. 1924
Janet ShawAmerican actress · b. 1919
J
John P. FultonSpecial effects designer · b. 1902
Kevin MeyerAmerican politician · b. 1956
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Plymouth’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Cub Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cub Creek
1870–1972
Plymouth
1872–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Plymouth
Woodlawn

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

Questions about Plymouth’s history

What year was Plymouth founded?

The Plymouth post office opened in 1872, 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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.