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History · Argonia

Argonia’s post office opened in 1881, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Salter House. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1890.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Argonia began, and where its name came from

When was Argonia founded?

1881

The Argonia post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 376 in 18902020 census: 456145 years

How did Argonia get its name?

Argonia was named for the ship Argo in Greek mythology.

Founding year: the first Argonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Argonia’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 Argonia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Argonia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Argonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Argonia’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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On the map

Argonia on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Argonia on the 1889 USGS mapArgonia on the 1893 USGS mapArgonia on the 1971 USGS mapArgonia on the 1985 USGS map1889Caldwell 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 Argonia.

The story

How Argonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Argonia.

Read it all →

Argonia was founded in 1881. It was named for the ship Argo in Greek mythology. In 1887, Susanna M. Salter became the first woman to win political office in United States history when she was elected Mayor of Argonia as a member of the Prohibition Party.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Argonia, 1881 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Argonia post office opens
  3. 1885BuiltSalter House is built
  4. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Argonia, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Argonia2005KSMap-doton-Argonia
On the National Register

1 historic place in Argonia

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Salter House
Salter House, built 1885
Buildings
Salter HouseBuilt 1885

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Argonia, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 591

Between 309 and 591 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Argonia’s history

What year was Argonia founded?

The Argonia post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Argonia?

One place: the Salter House (listed 1971).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.