The story
Read it all →How Sutherland came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Sutherland.
Sutherland was platted in 1891 after the Union Pacific Railroad had been built through the settlement.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · Sutherland
Sutherland dates to 1891, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1910.
1891founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Quick answers
How Sutherland began
When was Sutherland founded?
1891
Sutherland dates its founding to 1891 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 447 in 19102020 census: 1,313135 years
How historic is Sutherland?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sutherland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sutherland is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sutherland’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.5% of homes (±7.7) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NE town 16.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sutherland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). Two sources give 1891.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sutherland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Sutherland’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sutherland’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Sutherland on the map, 1898 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sutherland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1898Paxton sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sutherland.
Timeline
Sutherland, 1891 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1891FoundingSutherland is established
- 1892Post officeThe Sutherland post office opens
- 1898
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1922
Born hereCliff Mapes is born here - 1938
In the archiveGraveyard near Sutherland, Nebraska - 1963
Born hereM. Miriam Herrera is born here
By decade
Sutherland, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s1 item
1940s–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
2015
2011
2011
2011
2011
2005Then & 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.
Retake this viewGraveyard near Sutherland, Nebraska, 1938
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sutherland’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Sutherland, census by census
Grew from 447 people in 1910 to 1,313 in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sutherland’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Sutherland
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Sutherland’s history
What year was Sutherland founded?
In 1891, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sutherland’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1910 counted 447 people here.
How does Sutherland rank for history?
Sutherland is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Sutherland?
29% of Sutherland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1972.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.