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History · Hollansburg

Hollansburg’s post office opened in 1873, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1870.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Hollansburg began

When was Hollansburg founded?

1873

The Hollansburg post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Republican (1834), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 239 in 18702020 census: 243153 years
Founding year: the first Hollansburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hollansburg’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 Hollansburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hollansburg’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 364 in 1970; 243 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hollansburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hollansburg’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

How Hollansburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hollansburg.

Read it all →

On March 28, 1838, local landowner James Stewart platted a community in northwestern Harrison Township and named it "Union." When William Hollaman, another landowner, attempted to purchase lots in the settlement, a dispute erupted between the two men; seven months later, Hollaman attempted to avenge himself by platting another community only 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northeast of Union, to which a third landowner, Valentine Harland, quickly made additions. The new community was given the name of "Hollansburg" as a portmanteau of the owners' names — Hollaman and Harland. Within a year, a countryside post office named "Republican" was moved to Hollansburg, and the village quickly began to outgrow Union; the two communities ultimately merged. The first church in the village, a Church of Christ, was founded in 1840, while the first school building was erected in 1848.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hollansburg, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 364

Peaked at 364 in 1970; 243 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Hollansburg, 1834 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Republican post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Republican post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Hollansburg post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 364
By decade

Hollansburg, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Union at Deford2015Union at DefordHollansburg Fire Department2015Hollansburg Fire DepartmentHollansburg Christian Church2015Hollansburg Christian ChurchElm at Pease2015Elm at PeaseMap of Darke County Ohio Highlighting Hollansburg Village2015Map of Darke County Ohio Highlighting Hollansburg Vil…MapOHMap-doton-Hollansburg2004OHMap-doton-Hollansburg
On the map

Hollansburg on the map in 1960

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hollansburg.

Hollansburg on the 1960 USGS map1960Whitewater 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 Hollansburg.

Famous people

Famous people close to Hollansburg

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

See all →
Thomas M. BrowneU.S. Representative from Indiana · b. 1829
William Penn NixonAmerican publisher · b. 1832
D
Duane RichardsAmerican baseball player · b. 1936
T
Thomas O. EdwardsAmerican politician · b. 1810
Charlie ReynoldsAmerican baseball player · b. 1865
H
Halbert L. DunnAmerican biostatistician · b. 1896
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Hollansburg’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Republican, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Republican
1834–1873
Hollansburg
1873–today
18301930today
1cemetery inside Hollansburg
Hollansburg

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

Questions about Hollansburg’s history

What year was Hollansburg founded?

The Hollansburg post office opened in 1873, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.