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History · Sargent Township

Sargent Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1900.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sargent Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sargent Township began

When was Sargent Township founded?

1879

The Sargent Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Phillipsburg (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 250 in 19002020 census: 627147 years
Founding year: the first Sargent Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sargent Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sargent Township’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,078 in 1920; 500 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sargent Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWilliam Moore and family: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Sargent Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sargent Township.

Read it all →

Sargent was laid out in 1883 by future Governor Ezra P. Savage.

Mrs. Ruth Sherman established a post office in 1879. The office was located in a soddy one half mile east of the now corporate limits of town. She chose the name "Sargent" in honor of her close friends, Mr. and Mrs. E.D. Sargent of Streator, IL.

J.K. Spacht built the first store in what is now Sargent, in July 1883, in the middle of a wheat field. After establishment of this general store, Mr. Spacht was able to persuade Mrs. Sherman to let him move her post office to his store if the name would remain "Sargent".

The town experienced rapid growth when the railroad extended to it in 1899.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Sargent Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,078

Peaked at 1,078 in 1920; 500 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

Sargent Township, 1882 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Phillipsburg post office opens
  3. 1886In the archiveWilliam Moore and family
  4. 20th century
  5. 1915Post officeThe Phillipsburg post office closes
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,078
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sargent Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s2 items
William Moore and family1886William Moore and familyJ.D. Semler, near Woods Park, Custer County, Nebraska1886J.D. Semler, near Woods Park, Custer County, Nebraska
1890s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Sargent, Nebraska welcome sign2010Sargent, Nebraska welcome signSargent, Nebraska downtown2010Sargent, Nebraska downtownNEMap-doton-Sargent2005NEMap-doton-Sargent
On the map

Sargent Township on the map, 1952 to 1994

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

Sargent Township on the 1952 USGS mapSargent Township on the 1978 USGS mapSargent Township on the 1985 USGS mapSargent Township on the 1994 USGS map1952Sargent East 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 Sargent Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

William Moore and family
Retake this viewWilliam Moore and family, 1886

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sargent Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Sargent Township

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

See all →
J
Jay Wright ForresterAmerican operations researcher · b. 1918
L
Leo J. PowersUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1909
Robert M. WilkinsonAmerican politician · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Morris SchoolschoolNorth Star SchoolschoolPhillipsburg Post Officepost officePhillipsburg SchoolschoolZion Hill Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sargent Township
Mount HopeSaint Marys

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Douglas Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLillian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCorner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townComstock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Union TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sargent Township’s history

What year was Sargent Township founded?

The Sargent Township post office opened in 1879, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), 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.