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History · Richland

40% of Richland’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1910.

0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: MrKoch1900 · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Richland’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 Richland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Richland change.Old housesHalf of Richland’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Richland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Richland’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

Richland on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Richland on the 1899 USGS mapRichland on the 1968 USGS mapRichland on the 1985 USGS map1899David City 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 Richland.

The story

How Richland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richland.

Read it all →

Richland was once known as Benton. It was a shipping point on the Union Pacific Railroad. A post office was established at Richland in 1870.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Richland, 1858 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Eldorado post office opens
  3. 1870Post officeThe Eldorado post office closes
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Richland, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Richland, Nebraska bldg on Tilden 12013Richland, Nebraska bldg on Tilden 1Richland, Nebraska Tilden from Fisk 12013Richland, Nebraska Tilden from Fisk 1Richland, Nebraska Front from Tilden 22013Richland, Nebraska Front from Tilden 2Richland, Nebraska Front from Tilden 12013Richland, Nebraska Front from Tilden 1NEMap-doton-Richland2005NEMap-doton-Richland
People over time

Richland, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 174

Between 70 and 174 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Richland

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

See all →
Ruth EttingAmerican singer, vaudevillian, musical theatre … · b. 1896
Ray KegerisAmerican swimmer · b. 1901
Alfred GruentherUnited States Army general · b. 1899
Roman HruskaAmerican politician · b. 1904
K
Kenneth SteinerAuxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Portland… · b. 1936
Walter JuddAmerican politician · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Eldorado, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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

Questions about Richland’s history

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, 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.