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History · Kimball

Kimball’s post office opened in 1889, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kimball began

When was Kimball founded?

1889

The Kimball post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, De Fer (1912), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 490137 years
Founding year: the first Kimball post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Kimball’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kimball’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Kimball came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kimball.

Read it all →

The town was named for Congressman Alanson M. Kimball. Charles R. Clark was the first postmaster when the post office opened in June 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kimball, 1889 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Kimball post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Post officeThe De Fer post office opens
  5. 1929Post officeThe De Fer post office closes
  6. 1942Post officeThe Kimball post office closes
  7. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 album
On the map

Kimball on the map, 1956 to 1980

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

Kimball on the 1956 USGS mapKimball on the 1980 USGS map1956Iron Belt 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 Kimball.

Famous people

Famous people close to Kimball

Nobody well known was born in Kimball itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
John SzarkowskiAmerican curator · b. 1925
A
Al RossiAmerican rower · b. 1931
Frank OlsonAmerican chemist · b. 1910
Renee EllmersFormer U.S. Representative from North Carolina · b. 1964
Jennifer OuelletteAmerican science writer · b. 1964
O
Otto BinderAmerican writer · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Kimball had its own post office from 1889 to 1942. Another post office, De Fer, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kimball
1889–1942
De Fer
1912–1929
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Orva
Gone or out of use
Defer SchoolschoolMeadville Schoolschool

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.

Hurley1 historic placeB+SaxonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPence1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKnightIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIron BeltIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kimball’s history

What year was Kimball founded?

The Kimball post office opened in 1889, 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 →
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.