Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Kewanna

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
East Main St 2565Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Kewanna

Kewanna’s post office opened in 1847, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

1847first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Kewanna began

When was Kewanna founded?

1847

The Kewanna post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 576179 years
Founding year: the first Kewanna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Kewanna’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 Kewanna are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Kewanna’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Kewanna.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kewanna’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kewanna’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 Kewanna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kewanna.

Read it all →

A post office was established at Kewanna in 1847. The community was named for Kee-Wau-Nay, a Potawatomi chief.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Kewanna, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Route 17 25402021Route 17 2540Post Office 25592021Post Office 2559Entrance 25312021Entrance 2531Entrance 25302021Entrance 2530East Main St 25652021East Main St 2565Kenwana P91901642012Kenwana P9190164

Questions about Kewanna’s history

What year was Kewanna founded?

The Kewanna post office opened in 1847, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.