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History · Reading

Reading’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Reading. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Reading Township is one of seventeen townships in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 504 at the 2020 census, with a 2021 estimate increasing it to 506. The Village of Rising City is located within the township.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 521 people in 2010, 513 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Reading yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Reading’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Reading

See all 25 →
Lucas CruikshankLucas CruikshankColumbus · 18 miColeen GrayColeen GrayStaplehurst · 16 miRuth EttingRuth EttingDavid City · 11 miJim PillenJim PillenColumbus · 18 miBHBrad William HenkeColumbus · 18 miCurtis TomaseviczCurtis TomaseviczShelby · 6 mi
By decade

Reading, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Reading is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Reading has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Surprise Opera House in Surprise, 5.2 miles away.

Reading and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Reading. Tap a dot.
Surprise Opera HouseBig Blue River BridgeChauncey S. Taylor HouseDavid City Park and Municipal AuditoriumThorpe's Opera HouseClem's Opera House

Closest to Reading

Surprise Opera HouseSurprise · Building5.2miBig Blue River BridgeRead · Structure5.4miChauncey S. Taylor HouseOlive · Building10.2miDavid City Park and Municipal AuditoriumDavid City · Built 194110.6miThorpe's Opera HouseDavid City · Built 188910.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Surprise Opera House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Reading?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Reading’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Rising City📜 Surprise📜 Summit📜 Union
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Reading, NEButler CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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