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History · Princeton

Princeton’s post office opened in 1886

Most of Princeton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1897 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1886

The Princeton post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 51140 years
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Princeton’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 Princeton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18973 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1986. Watch Princeton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Princeton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Princeton on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Princeton on the 1897 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1964 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1986 USGS map1897Lincoln 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 Princeton.

The story

How Princeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Princeton.

Read it all →

Princeton was founded in 1886. It was likely named after Princeton, New Jersey.

A post office was established in Princeton in 1886, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1959.

Leon Riley, a baseball player and manager and father of National Basketball Association player, head coach and manager Pat Riley, was born here. During a playing career that stretched from 1927 to 1942 and 1944 to 1949, Riley appeared in 2,267 minor league games for 21 different teams, with a brief trial with the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies during the World War II manpower shortage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Princeton, 1886 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Princeton post office opens
  3. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959Post officeThe Princeton post office closes
By decade

Princeton, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Princeton, NE2015Princeton, NE
Famous people

Famous people close to Princeton

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

See all →
H
Hilary SwankAmerican actress · b. 1974
B
Brandon SandersonAmerican fantasy writer · b. 1975
Jack SockAmerican tennis player · b. 1992
Deb FischerAmerican politician · b. 1951
Leo RyanAmerican politician · b. 1925
John William ChapmanAmerican politician · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Princeton had its own post office from 1886 to 1959.

Princeton
1886–1959
18801950today

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

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

The Princeton post office opened in 1886, 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 →
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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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.