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History · Barnes Township

Barnes Township’s post office opened in 1877, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

1877first post office
0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Barnes Township began, and where its name came from

When was Barnes Township founded?

1877

The Barnes Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 239149 years

How did Barnes Township get its name?

It was renamed Barnes in 1876 in honor of A. S. Barnes, a stockholder of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad Barnes was a station and shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

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

What stands out about Barnes 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 Barnes Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Barnes Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barnes Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barnes 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

How Barnes Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barnes Township.

Read it all →

Barnes was originally called Elm Grove when it was founded in 1870. It was renamed Barnes in 1876 in honor of A. S. Barnes, a stockholder of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad

Barnes was a station and shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Barnes Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Barnes, Kansas welcome sign and kingpost bridge 12015Barnes, Kansas welcome sign and kingpost bridge 1KSMap-doton-Barnes2005KSMap-doton-Barnes
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barnes Township
MaplewoodMoundSaint Boniface

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Waterville Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle Blue TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLincoln Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenleaf TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Barnes Township’s history

What year was Barnes Township founded?

The Barnes 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia 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.