The story
Read it all →How Bennett came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bennett.
The town takes its name from Richard Bennett, an area settler from the 1880s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bennett
Bennett’s post office opened in 1899, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1961 on.
1899first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Bennett began
When was Bennett founded?
1899
The Bennett post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 632127 years
Founding year: the first Bennett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bennett’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 Bennett’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bennett’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Bennett, 1899 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1899Post officeThe Bennett post office opens
- 20th century
- 1961
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1984Post officeThe Bennett 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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Bennett on the map, 1961 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bennett. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Solon Springs 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 Bennett.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bennett
Nobody well known was born in Bennett itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Bennett had its own post office from 1899 to 1984.
Bennett
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beebe
1cemetery inside Bennett
Bennett
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 Bennett’s history
What year was Bennett founded?
The Bennett post office opened in 1899, 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 Wikipedia, 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.