Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
The Wilber post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilber is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Wilber’s 36.2 sits above most of its state (77% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilber’s history is told.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1892Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Wilber.
Wilber was platted in 1873 by C. D. Wilber, and named for him. In 1878, the seat of Saline County was transferred to Wilber from Pleasant Hill.
Wilber was declared the official Czech Capital of the United States on July 10, 1987, in a decree signed by president Ronald Reagan. Wilber hosts the annual Czech Days festival which celebrates the city's Czech heritage.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltMann-Zwonecek House is built
In the archiveWilber NE 1914
BuiltSaline County Courthouse is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereDana Altman is born hereOne decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wilber. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wilber.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wilber’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 710 people in 1880 to 1,937 in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wilber’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Wilber post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Wilber is more historic than 81% 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.
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Hotel Wilber (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Saline County Courthouse, with 2 contributing buildings. 7 historic buildings in all.
42% of Wilber’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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