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History · Altoona

Altoona’s post office opened in 1870, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1890.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Altoona began

When was Altoona founded?

1870

The Altoona post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 265 in 18902020 census: 354156 years
Founding year: the first Altoona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Altoona’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 Altoona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,462 in 1910; 354 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Altoona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Altoona’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
People over time

Altoona, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,462

Peaked at 1,462 in 1910; 354 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Altoona’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Altoona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Altoona.

Read it all →

Altoona was originally called Geddesburg when it was founded in 1869. It was renamed Altoona in 1870, after Altoona, Pennsylvania. The first post office in Altoona was established in April 1870.

Altoona experienced growth when the railroad was built through the settlement about 1885.

As of 1916, Altoona was a sundown town, where African Americans were not allowed to live.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Altoona, 1870 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Altoona post office opens
  3. 1882Born hereIda Moore is born here
  4. 1889Born hereOren E. Long is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,462
  7. 1925Born hereTom Hamilton is born here
  8. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Altoona, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Kansas Route 47 in2025Kansas Route 47 in
On the map

Altoona on the map, 1938 to 1984

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

Altoona on the 1938 USGS mapAltoona on the 1943 USGS mapAltoona on the 1959 USGS mapAltoona on the 1984 USGS map1938Altoona sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Altoona, building by building, 1906–1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Altoona fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Altoona

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Oren E. LongAmerican politician · b. 1889
I
Ida MooreAmerican actress · b. 1882
T
Tom HamiltonAmerican baseball player · b. 1925

Questions about Altoona’s history

What year was Altoona founded?

The Altoona post office opened in 1870, 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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.