Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to South Bend

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · South Bend

South Bend dates to 1857, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1880.

1857founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Bend began

When was South Bend founded?

1857

South Bend dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 232 in 18802020 census: 92169 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about South Bend’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 South Bend are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Bend’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Bend’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
The story

How South Bend came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Bend.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement at South Bend was made in 1856. South Bend was platted in 1857. The town was named from a meander in the Platte River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Bend, 1857 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingSouth Bend is established
  3. 1866Post officeThe South Bend post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

South Bend, decade by decade

Today6 recent
South Bend, Nebraska village hall 12013South Bend, Nebraska village hall 1South Bend, Nebraska post office 12013South Bend, Nebraska post office 1South Bend, Nebraska from W 12013South Bend, Nebraska from W 1MCB-prime-rib22006MCB-prime-rib2MCB-prime-rib2006MCB-prime-ribNEMap-doton-South Bend2005NEMap-doton-South Bend
On the map

South Bend on the map in 1969

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Bend.

South Bend on the 1969 USGS map1969Springfield 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 South Bend.

People over time

South Bend, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 232

Between 86 and 232 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

South Bend’s post office has been open since 1866.

Gone or out of use
South Bend Schoolschool

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

Questions about South Bend’s history

What year was South Bend founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. South Bend’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1880 counted 232 people here.

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 (6), 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.