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History · West Blue Township

West Blue Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How West Blue Township began

When was West Blue Township founded?

1871

The West Blue Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Blue (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 76155 years
Founding year: the first West Blue Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about West Blue 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 West Blue Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch West Blue Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Blue Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Blue 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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On the map

West Blue Township on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

West Blue Township on the 1898 USGS mapWest Blue Township on the 1969 USGS mapWest Blue Township on the 1985 USGS map1898York 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 West Blue Township.

The story so far

West Blue Township, in brief

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

West Blue Township is one of fifteen townships in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 66 at the 2020 census. A small portion of the village of Fairmont lies within the township.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 85 to 76 (-11%).

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

Timeline

West Blue Township, 1871 to 1898

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe West Blue post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe West Blue post office closes
  4. 1898On 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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

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

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.

Exeter-Fairmont Consolidated Township2 historic placesAGrafton Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about West Blue Township’s history

What year was West Blue Township founded?

The West Blue Township post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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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 and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.