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History · Belpre

Belpre’s post office opened in 1879, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1910.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belpre’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belpre began

When was Belpre founded?

1879

The Belpre post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 485 in 19102020 census: 97147 years
Founding year: the first Belpre post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Belpre’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Belpre change.Old housesHalf of Belpre’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · On the map

Belpre on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Belpre on the 1889 USGS mapBelpre on the 1892 USGS mapBelpre on the 1972 USGS mapBelpre on the 1985 USGS map1889Kinsley 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 Belpre.

The story

How Belpre came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belpre.

Read it all →

Belpre was founded in 1879 and was incorporated in 1906. Belpre is derived from the French word "belle prairie" for "beautiful meadow".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belpre, 1879 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Belpre post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910In the archiveWililam Phillips steam plow
By decade

Belpre, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s9 items
Wililam Phillips steam plow1910Wililam Phillips steam plowWililam Phillips steam plow1910Wililam Phillips steam plowGrain elevators1910Grain elevatorsDudley Ave1910Dudley AveHager-Harvey Blk. Belpre, KS1910Hager-Harvey Blk. Belpre, KSDudley Ave1910Dudley AveL. Bonnel Harvest1911L. Bonnel HarvestBelpre Christian Church1912Belpre Christian ChurchIt rains1912It rains
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Map of Edwards Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Edwards Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Belpre2004KSMap-doton-Belpre
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Wililam Phillips steam plow
Retake this viewWililam Phillips steam plow, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Belpre’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Belpre, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 488

Between 84 and 488 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Belpre

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

See all →
Madge BlakeActress · b. 1899
Earl Winfield SpencerUnited States naval offocer · b. 1888
D
Dale BurnettAmerican football player · b. 1909
Gene KeadyAmerican basketball coach · b. 1936
M
Mitch WebsterAmerican baseball player · b. 1959
K
Kyle BurkhartPlayer of American football · b. 1986
Help out

Finish Belpre’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWililam Phillips steam plow: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Belpre’s history

What year was Belpre founded?

The Belpre post office opened in 1879, 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 (4), the Library of Congress (7), 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.