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History · Willowdale Township

The history of Willowdale Township

Below: maps from 1954 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Willowdale 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 Willowdale Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Willowdale Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Willowdale Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mineola
1880–1913
Opportunity
1910–1942
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Opportunity
Gone or out of use
Opportunity Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Willowdale Township
Mineola

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

The story so far

Willowdale Township, in brief

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

Willowdale Township is one of thirty-seven townships in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 38 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 38.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 53 to 23 (-57%).

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

Timeline

Willowdale Township, 1880 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Mineola post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Opportunity post office opens
  5. 1913Post officeThe Mineola post office closes
  6. 1942Post officeThe Opportunity post office closes
  7. 1954On 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

Willowdale Township on the map, 1954 to 1986

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

Willowdale Township on the 1954 USGS mapWillowdale Township on the 1986 USGS map1954Dorsey SW 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 Willowdale Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Willowdale Township

Nobody well known was born in Willowdale 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
D
Debra KolsteAmerican politician in Wisconsin · b. 1953
Francis C. WhelanUnited States federal judge · b. 1907
Frank LeahyAmerican college football coach · b. 1907
R
Rodney J. CliftonAmerican scientist in engineering of mechanics · b. 1937
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Iowa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScott TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShields TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSteel Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAntelope TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalnut Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Willowdale Township’s history

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, 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.