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History · Bow Creek Township

Bow Creek Township’s post office opened in 1874

Below: maps from 1893 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bow Creek Township began

When was Bow Creek Township founded?

1874

The Bow Creek Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Bow Creek (1874) and Crow Creek (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 18152 years
Founding year: the first Bow Creek Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bow Creek 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 Bow Creek Township 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 Bow Creek Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bow Creek Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bow Creek Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bow Creek Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Bow Creek Township on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Bow Creek Township on the 1893 USGS mapBow Creek Township on the 1961 USGS mapBow Creek Township on the 1985 USGS map1893Phillipsburg 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 Bow Creek Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bow Creek
1874–1905
Crow Creek
1875–1876
18701950today
1cemetery inside Bow Creek Township
Bow Creek

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

The story so far

Bow Creek Township, in brief

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

Bow Creek Township is a township in Phillips County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 18.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 43 to 18 (-58%).

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

Timeline

Bow Creek Township, 1874 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Bow Creek post office opens
  3. 1875Post officeThe Crow Creek post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Crow Creek post office closes
  5. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe Bow Creek post office closes
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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Bow Creek Township

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

See all →
B
Bruce GoffAmerican architect · b. 1904
Carl HatchAmerican politician · b. 1889
Dale DodrillAmerican football player · b. 1926
Mal StevensAmerican tennis player · b. 1900
J
Janis LeeAmerican politician · b. 1945
L
Len DuganAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1910
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTownship 2Its storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRushville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTownship 32 historic placesADeer Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bow Creek Township’s history

What year was Bow Creek Township founded?

The Bow Creek Township post office opened in 1874, 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 →
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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.