The story
Read it all →How Allen came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Allen.
The CDP is named for the Allen Township, which in turn was named for Charles W. Allen, the town's first merchant.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Allen
Allen’s post office opened in 1897
Most of Allen was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986.
1897first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Allen began
When was Allen founded?
1897
The Allen post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 460129 years
Founding year: the first Allen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Allen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Allen’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Allen’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Allen, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2009
2004Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Allen
Nobody well known was born in Allen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
V
Vine Deloria, Jr.Standing Rock Sioux author, lawyer, seminarian,… · b. 1933J
Jay NovacekPlayer of American football · b. 1962E
Edgar Bear RunnerActor · b. 1951R
Raymond Yellow ThunderDeath of Raymond Yellow Thunder · b. 1921E
Emma AmiotteOglala Lakota artist · b. 1913Questions about Allen’s history
What year was Allen founded?
The Allen post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 (2), 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.