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History · Alta Township

Alta Township’s post office opened in 1877, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1891 on.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Alta Township began

When was Alta Township founded?

1877

The Alta Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Alta (1877) and Valentine (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 221149 years
Founding year: the first Alta Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Alta Township’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 Alta Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Alta Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alta Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alta Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alta Township’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 so far

Alta Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alta Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alta Township is a township in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 221.

Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 236 to 221 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alta
1877–1901
Valentine
1889–1899
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alta Mills
Gone or out of use
Hollow Nikkel Oil FieldoilfieldWillis Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Alta Township
Hebron

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Alta Township, 1877 to 1901

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Alta post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Valentine post office opens
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1899Post officeThe Valentine post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Post officeThe Alta 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.
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On the map

Alta Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Alta Township on the 1891 USGS mapAlta Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Hutchinson sheet · 1:125,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Alta Township

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

See all →
Richard ThorpeAmerican actor and film director · b. 1896
D
Dallas BixlerGymnast · b. 1910
Kevin YoderAmerican politician · b. 1976
Scott HeimNovelist · b. 1966
B
Bruce ConnerAmerican artist · b. 1933
Montee BallAmerican football player · b. 1990
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Burrton TownshipIts storyB−Turkey Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle River Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Alta Township’s history

What year was Alta Township founded?

The Alta Township post office opened in 1877, 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 →
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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 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.