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History · Finley

Finley’s post office opened in 1896, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Finley was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Sprague Bridge. Below: maps from 1969 on.

1896first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Finley began

When was Finley founded?

1896

The Finley post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 88130 years
Founding year: the first Finley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Finley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Finley’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

How Finley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Finley.

Read it all →

Created in the 1890s from parts of Armenia and Kingston, Finley first appeared on the 1900 United States census, with a population of 201.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Finley, 1896 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Finley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913BuiltSprague Bridge is built
  5. 1944Post officeThe Finley post office closes
  6. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Finley, decade by decade

Today1 recent
WIMap-doton-Finley2004WIMap-doton-Finley
On the map

Finley on the map, 1969 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Finley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Finley on the 1969 USGS mapFinley on the 1985 USGS map1969Finley sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Finley

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
1995
Sprague Bridge
Sprague Bridge, built 1913
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pratt Half-Hip Pony Truss1
Sprague BridgePratt Half-Hip Pony Truss · Built 1913

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Finley had its own post office from 1896 to 1944.

Finley
1896–1944
18901960today

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.

RemingtonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townArmeniaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKingstonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Finley’s history

What year was Finley founded?

The Finley post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Finley?

One place: the Sprague Bridge (listed 1995).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.