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History · Bogue

Bogue’s post office opened in 1888, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1940.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Palbert01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bogue began

When was Bogue founded?

1888

The Bogue post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Wild Horse (1879) and Fagan (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 157 in 19402020 census: 155138 years
Founding year: the first Bogue post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bogue’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 Bogue are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Bogue change.Boom and bustPeaked at 257 in 1970; 155 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bogue.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bogue’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bogue’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
On the map

Bogue on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Bogue on the 1893 USGS mapBogue on the 1979 USGS mapBogue on the 1985 USGS map1893Hill City 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 Bogue.

People over time

Bogue, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 257

Peaked at 257 in 1970; 155 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Bogue came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bogue.

Read it all →

Bogue was established in 1888 as a railroad town. It originally was named Wild Horse but the Union Pacific Railroad changed the name to honor Virgil Gay Bogue, a civil engineer working for the railroad and the founder of the city.

The first post office in Bogue was established in September 1888. It was moved from Fagan.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bogue, 1879 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Wild Horse post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Wild Horse post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Fagan post office opens
  5. 1888Post officeThe Fagan post office closes
  6. 1888Post officeThe Bogue post office opens
  7. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1954Born hereMarvin Switzer is born here
  10. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 257
By decade

Bogue, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Bogue Kansas Township Hall2016Bogue Kansas Township HallKSMap-doton-Bogue2004KSMap-doton-Bogue
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Bogue’s post office has been open since 1888. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wild Horse
1879–1887
Fagan
1887–1888
Bogue
1888–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Bogue Elementary Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Bogue’s history

What year was Bogue founded?

The Bogue 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 →
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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.