Bonner Springs dates to 1812, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #36 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bonner Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bonner Springs is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #36 of 151 in Kansas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bonner Springs’ overall grade.
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 Bonner Springs’ 6.4 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1812.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
What stands out about Bonner Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado spent the winter of 1541–1542 at what is now the area of Bonner Springs. The diary of Father Juan Padilla records that the expedition reached the 40th degree (Kansas northern border) and came to a great river (the Missouri). An inscription found on a stone near Atchison has been translated as, "Thus far came Francisco de Coronado, General of an Expedition." The explorers traveled downstream to the mouth of another great river, the Kansas, and preceded upstream 16 leagues to camp in what is now Bonner Springs before returning to Mexico. Due to the mineral springs, this legend gave the area its first recorded name, "Coronado Springs".
Passages that mention Bonner Springs, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Historical and biographical. Comprising a condensed history of the state, a careful history of Wyandotte County, and a comprehensive history of the growth of the cities, towns and villages ..1890 · page 348Read the page →
Read the text
springs of medicinal waters at this point, the idea was conceived to make it a summer health resort and a suburban residence town for people doing business in Kansas City, it being seventeen miles from the Union Depot in that city. To this end the Bonner Springs Company was organized, and in November, 1885, the town of Bonner Springs, adjoining Tiblow on the northwest, was surveyed and laid out to contain nineteen blocks of various sizes, each subdivided into lots of different sizes. D. R. Emmons was president and James D. Husted
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people1911 · page 320Read the page →
Read the text
Accordingly the town of Bonner Springs, ad.joining Tiblow on the east was laid out in November, 1855, by a company which included David R. Emmons, president, and James D. Husted, secretary. Philo M. Clark, then, as now a resident, was one of the principal promoters and members of the company and by him it was named for Robert Bon'- ner, the New York editor and publisher of that day. The town company built the Coronodo hotel for the use of those who came to partake of the waters of the springs.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wyandotte County, Kansas, and its people1911 · page 321Read the page →
Read the text
At the present time the Bonner Portland Cement plant supplies the town of Bonner Springs, the Gray Brick manufacturing plant, and a large sanitarium, with natural gas for lighting and heating purposes. Their welLs are of great depth and flow strong and steady, the company has sufficient acreage that they are reasonably assured of having sufficient gas to last them for vears innumerable.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Bonner Springs, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bonner Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1940Bonner Springs 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 Bonner Springs.
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.
Retake this view1908 Fire, 1908
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bonner Springs’ page.
In 1812, according to Wikidata. Bonner Springs’ post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1900 counted 609 people here.
How does Bonner Springs rank for history?
Bonner Springs is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #36 of 151 in Kansas. 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.
What is on the National Register in Bonner Springs?
Two places: the Bonner Springs High School (listed 2002) and the Frank and Agnes Schmotz Farmstead (2024).
How old are the homes in Bonner Springs?
14% of Bonner Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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