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History · Bendena

Bendena’s post office opened in 1888, and 66% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1926 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
66%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bendena began

When was Bendena founded?

1888

The Bendena post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 117138 years
Founding year: the first Bendena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Bendena’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bendena’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
The story

How Bendena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bendena.

Read it all →

Bendena was founded in 1886. It was originally given the name of Albers, after John Albers, who farmed on this land. But when the United States Postal Service established a post office there, they required a change of name because of similarities to other town names in Kansas. It was then named for the sweetheart of the first telegraph operator at the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska railroad station.

The first post office in Bendena was established in January 1888. Its ZIP Code is 66008.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Bendena on the map, 1926 to 1959

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

Bendena on the 1926 USGS mapBendena on the 1959 USGS map1926Atchison 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 Bendena.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bendena

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

See all →
Amelia EarhartAmerican aviation pioneer and author · b. 1897
M
Mary Peters FieserAmerican chemist · b. 1909
J
Jesse StoneAmerican rhythm and blues musician and songwrit… · b. 1901
Charles Lester MarlattAmerican entomologist · b. 1863
Chester L. MizeAmerican politician · b. 1917
David W. HopkinsAmerican politician · b. 1897

Questions about Bendena’s history

What year was Bendena founded?

The Bendena post office opened in 1888, 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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.