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History · Trumbull

Trumbull dates to 1886, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1920.

1886founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Trumbull’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Trumbull began

When was Trumbull founded?

1886

Trumbull dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 236 in 19202020 census: 194140 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

What stands out about Trumbull’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Trumbull change.Old housesHalf of Trumbull’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Trumbull’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Trumbull’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Trumbull on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Trumbull on the 1898 USGS mapTrumbull on the 1969 USGS mapTrumbull on the 1985 USGS map1898Grand Island 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 Trumbull.

The story

How Trumbull came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Trumbull.

Read it all →

Trumbull was platted in 1886 when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point. Unverified stories purport that the farmer who donated the land to found Trumbull gave the land to the village under the sole condition that the sale of alcohol be expressly forbidden within the village limits; causing this rule to be written in the village charter.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Trumbull, 1880 to 1898

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Clay County - Trumbull - ED 18-13
  3. 1885Born hereNelson M. Holderman is born here
  4. 1886
    FoundingTrumbull is established
  5. 1887Post officeThe Trumbull post office opens
  6. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Trumbull, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Clay County - Trumbull - ED 18-1318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Cl…
1890s–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
Today3 recent
Trumbull Village Hall2006Trumbull Village HallSkyline of2006Skyline ofNEMap-doton-Trumbull2005NEMap-doton-Trumbull
Then & 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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Clay County - Trumbull - ED 18-13
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nebraska - Clay County - Trumbull - ED 18-13, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Trumbull’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Trumbull, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 236

Between 126 and 236 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Trumbull’s history

What year was Trumbull founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Trumbull’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1920 counted 236 people here.

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 (4), 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.