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History · Princeton

Princeton’s post office opened in 1888

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1888

The Princeton post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 49138 years
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Princeton’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 Princeton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Princeton’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 so far

Princeton, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 62 to 49 (-21%).

Timeline

Princeton, 1888 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Princeton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1966Post officeThe Princeton post office closes
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.

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On the map

Princeton on the map in 1954

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

Princeton on the 1954 USGS map1954Greenville sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Princeton.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Princeton had its own post office from 1888 to 1966.

Princeton
1888–1966
18801950today

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

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

The Princeton post office opened in 1888, 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, 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.