The story
Read it all →How Bushnell came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bushnell.
Bushnell was laid out in 1904 and named for Frank Bushnell, the original owner of the site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bushnell
Bushnell’s post office opened in 1885, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1920.
1885first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Bushnell began
When was Bushnell founded?
1885
The Bushnell post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 150 in 19202020 census: 71141 years
Founding year: the first Bushnell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bushnell’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 Bushnell’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bushnell’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Bushnell, 1885 to 1974
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1885Post officeThe Bushnell post office opens
- 20th century
- 1964
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1974Post officeThe Bushnell post office closes
By decade
Bushnell, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2004On the map
Bushnell on the map, 1964 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bushnell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Aurora sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bushnell.
People over time
Bushnell, census by census
Between 65 and 150 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bushnell’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Bushnell had its own post office from 1885 to 1974.
Bushnell
18801950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Bushnell’s history
What year was Bushnell founded?
The Bushnell post office opened in 1885, 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 (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.