Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Benton Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1910.
The Benton Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1909. Another post office, Indianola (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Benton Township was named for Thomas Benton Murdock, a state politician.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Benton Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Benton Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Benton Township.
Benton was founded in 1884. It was named for Thomas Benton Murdock, a state politician. Benton was incorporated as a city in 1908.
In 1969, part of the film The Gypsy Moths was shot in the Benton area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Benton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Benton Township.
Grew from 240 people in 1910 to 943 in 2020, 3 times over.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Benton Township’s Wikipedia page.
Another post office, Indianola, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Benton Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1909.
Benton Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
4% of Benton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1992.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.
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