Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bonaville Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Bonaville Township

Bonaville Township’s post office opened in 1875, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bonaville Township began

When was Bonaville Township founded?

1875

The Bonaville Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bonaville (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 82151 years
Founding year: the first Bonaville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bonaville 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 writtenNo old photos of Bonaville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bonaville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bonaville Township’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 so far

Bonaville Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bonaville Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bonaville Township is a township in McPherson County, Kansas, United States.

Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 74 to 82 (+11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bonaville Township, 1875 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Bonaville post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Bonaville post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Bonaville Township on the map, 1965 to 1979

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

Bonaville Township on the 1965 USGS mapBonaville Township on the 1979 USGS map1965Lindsborg SE sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bonaville Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bonaville Township

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

See all →
Ural Alexis JohnsonAmerican diplomat · b. 1908
W
Wendell JohnsonAmerican psychologist · b. 1906
George Seanor RobbUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1887
B
Bill McGillAmerican baseball player · b. 1880
D
Del LundgrenAmerican baseball player · b. 1899
B
Brad HillAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1962
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Bonaville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Bonaville Township
Christian Ridge

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Gypsum Creek Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDelmore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLiberty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSmoky Hill Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bonaville Township’s history

What year was Bonaville Township founded?

The Bonaville Township post office opened in 1875, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.