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History · Blue Rapids City Township

Blue Rapids City Township dates to 1869, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1870.

1869founded
1on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blue Rapids City Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blue Rapids City Township began

When was Blue Rapids City Township founded?

1869

Blue Rapids City Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 250 in 18702020 census: 1,017157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

What stands out about Blue Rapids City 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Blue Rapids City Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,756 in 1910; 928 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Blue Rapids City Township’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blue Rapids City Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blue Rapids City Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlue Rapids looking south c1900: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Blue Rapids City Township on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Blue Rapids City Township on the 1889 USGS mapBlue Rapids City Township on the 1894 USGS mapBlue Rapids City Township on the 1968 USGS mapBlue Rapids City Township on the 1983 USGS map1889Marysville 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 Blue Rapids City Township.

People over time

Blue Rapids City Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,756

Peaked at 1,756 in 1910; 928 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blue Rapids City Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Blue Rapids City Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blue Rapids City Township.

Read it all →

The first endeavor to establish a town below the junction of the rivers, in 1857, failed due to misfortunes of two of the three participants. No further attempt to utilize the impressive water power was made until 1869–1870, when a colony of about 50 families from Genesee County, New York moved in, purchased land and water power rights, and began establishing a community. The Blue Rapids Town Company was formed, and by the end of 1870 the population was about 250. In 1872, Blue Rapids was incorporated as a city of third class under the statutes of Kansas.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blue Rapids City Township, 1869 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingBlue Rapids City Township is established
  3. 1883Born hereHenry Pomeroy Miller is born here
  4. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveBlue Rapids looking south c1900
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,756
By decade

Blue Rapids City Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Blue Rapids looking south c1900c. 1900Blue Rapids looking south c1900
1910s–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
Today3 recent
US77LeftKS9aheadSignsRoad-BlueRapids2014US77LeftKS9aheadSignsRoad-BlueRapidsWaterville and2012Waterville andKSMap-doton-Blue Rapids2004KSMap-doton-Blue Rapids
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.

Blue Rapids looking south c1900
Retake this viewBlue Rapids looking south c1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Blue Rapids City Township

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

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bestwall
Gone or out of use
Linch Landing Stripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blue Rapids City Township
Prospect HillSaville

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 townBlue Rapids TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElm Creek Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWells TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blue Rapids City Township’s history

What year was Blue Rapids City Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Blue Rapids City Township’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 250 people here.

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.