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History · Swan Township

Swan Township’s post office opened in 1886

Most of Swan Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1981 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Swan Township began

When was Swan Township founded?

1886

The Swan Township post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Swan (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 34140 years
Founding year: the first Swan Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Swan Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Swan Township’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 so far

Swan Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Swan Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Swan Township is one of thirty-seven townships in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 39 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 39.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 45 to 34 (-24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Swan Township, 1886 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Swan post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923Post officeThe Swan post office closes
  5. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Swan Township on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Swan Township.

Swan Township on the 1981 USGS map1981Swan Lake 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 Swan Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Swan Township

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

See all →
H
Harry OwensAmerican songwriter · b. 1902
James A. DonohoeUnited States federal judge · b. 1877
O
Opal HillProfessional golfer · b. 1892
D
Debra KolsteAmerican politician in Wisconsin · b. 1953
Francis C. WhelanUnited States federal judge · b. 1907
Frank LeahyAmerican college football coach · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Swan, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Swan Lake
Gone or out of use
Swan Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Josie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWyoming TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHolt Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrancis TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Swan Township’s history

What year was Swan Township founded?

The Swan Township post office opened in 1886, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.