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History · Steinauer

Steinauer’s post office opened in 1874, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Steinauer Opera House. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
1on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Steinauer began

When was Steinauer founded?

1874

The Steinauer post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 213 in 19002020 census: 59152 years
Founding year: the first Steinauer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Steinauer’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 Steinauer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Steinauer’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 248 in 1910; 59 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Steinauer’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Steinauer’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 Steinauer came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Steinauer.

Read it all →

The first settlement at the place which later became the village of Steinauer was made in 1856 by Joseph A. Steinauer and his two brothers, Anton and Nicholas, after they were forced to leave their native Switzerland due to famine and depression in 1852. Warnings to avoid “Bloody Kansas” prompted them to settle in what would become Pawnee County. The Steinauer post office was established in 1874, solidifying the settlement's name. The village was platted in 1887 when the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point, and was named for Joseph A. Steinauer, the first postmaster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Steinauer, census by census

01002001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 248

Peaked at 248 in 1910; 59 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

Steinauer, 1874 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Steinauer post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 248
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Steinauer, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Steinauer, Nebraska downtown 12012Steinauer, Nebraska downtown 1Knights of Columbus2012Knights of ColumbusNEMap-doton-Steinauer2005NEMap-doton-Steinauer
On the map

Steinauer on the map, 1965 to 1986

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

Steinauer on the 1965 USGS mapSteinauer on the 1986 USGS map1965Steinauer 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 Steinauer.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Steinauer

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Steinauer Opera House
Steinauer Opera House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Two-part Commercial Block1
Steinauer Opera HouseTwo-part Commercial Block

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Steinauer

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

See all →
Harold LloydAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1893
Larry the Cable GuyAmerican stand-up comedian · b. 1963
Robert TaylorAmerican actor · b. 1911
Irish McCallaAmerican film and television actress · b. 1928
Kenneth S. WherryAmerican politician · b. 1892
Roy BarcroftAmerican actor · b. 1902
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Steinauer’s post office has been open since 1874.

Gone or out of use
Steinauerlocale

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

Questions about Steinauer’s history

What year was Steinauer founded?

The Steinauer post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Steinauer?

One place: the Steinauer Opera House (listed 1988).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.