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History · Sprague

Sprague’s post office opened in 1888, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1920.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sprague began

When was Sprague founded?

1888

The Sprague post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Centreville (1866), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 112 in 19202020 census: 136138 years
Founding year: the first Sprague post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sprague’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 Sprague are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sprague’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sprague’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sprague’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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The story

How Sprague came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sprague.

Read it all →

In 1865, a settlement called Centerville established a post office in the area, but never grew into a sustainable community. Sprague was established in 1888 when the Missouri Pacific Railroad was extended to that point and was named after a local Civil War veteran, William Sprague, and his wife, Amy. In 1894, a station named "Martell" was established and platted by the Rock Island Railroad nearby, but the village was never incorporated. Sprague was incorporated in 1913, when it was no longer required there be a population of at least 200 people.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sprague, 1866 to 1897

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Centreville post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Centreville post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Sprague post office opens
  5. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sprague, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Sprague, Nebraska Second Street 12013Sprague, Nebraska Second Street 1Sprague, Nebraska Market Street 12013Sprague, Nebraska Market Street 1NEMap-doton-Sprague2005NEMap-doton-Sprague
On the map

Sprague on the map, 1897 to 1986

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

Sprague on the 1897 USGS mapSprague 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 Sprague.

People over time

Sprague, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 168

Between 110 and 168 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Sprague’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Centreville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Centreville
1866–1888
Sprague
1888–today
18601940today

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

Questions about Sprague’s history

What year was Sprague founded?

The Sprague post office opened in 1888, 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), 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.