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History · Sterling

Sterling’s post office opened in 1870, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1900.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sterling began

When was Sterling founded?

1870

The Sterling post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bryson (1866), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 782 in 19002020 census: 480156 years
Founding year: the first Sterling post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sterling’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 Sterling are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sterling’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sterling’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Sterling.

Read it all →

Sterling was platted in 1870 when the Atchison and Nebraska Railroad was extended to that point. The village was named after Sterling, Illinois.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sterling, 1866 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Bryson post office opens
  3. 1870Post officeThe Bryson post office closes
  4. 1870Post officeThe Sterling post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sterling, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington face E 12014Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington face E 1Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington S side 12014Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington S side 1Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington N side 12014Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Washington N side 1Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Main N side 12014Sterling, Nebraska Broadway from Main N side 1NEMap-doton-Sterling2005NEMap-doton-Sterling
On the map

Sterling on the map, 1965 to 1986

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

Sterling on the 1965 USGS mapSterling on the 1986 USGS map1965Sterling 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 Sterling.

People over time

Sterling, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 804

Between 451 and 804 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Sterling’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Bryson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bryson
1866–1870
Sterling
1870–today
18601940today

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

Questions about Sterling’s history

What year was Sterling founded?

The Sterling post office opened in 1870, 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 (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.