The story
Read it all →How Warsaw came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Warsaw.
Warsaw was laid out in 1834. It was named after Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Warsaw
Warsaw’s post office opened in 1839, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Warsaw Hotel. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1860.
1839first post office
1on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Warsaw began, and where its name came from
When was Warsaw founded?
1839
The Warsaw post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 184 in 18602020 census: 634187 years
How did Warsaw get its name?
Warsaw was named after Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
Founding year: the first Warsaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Warsaw’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 19133 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1982. Watch Warsaw change.Old housesHalf of Warsaw’s homes were built before 1952.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Warsaw.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Warsaw’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Warsaw’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Warsaw on the map, 1913 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Warsaw. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1913Brinkhaven sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Warsaw.
By decade
Warsaw, decade by decade
Date?
2015
2015
2006
2004Then & 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.
Retake this viewEchoinghills
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Warsaw’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Warsaw
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Warsaw Hotel
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Commercial Style1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Warsaw, census by census
Between 184 and 781 people in every census since 1860.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Warsaw’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Warsaw
Nobody well known was born in Warsaw itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Warsaw’s history
What year was Warsaw founded?
The Warsaw post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Warsaw?
One place: the Warsaw Hotel (listed 1994).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.