Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bushong

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 · Bushong

Bushong’s post office opened in 1887, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1930.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bhall87 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Bushong began

When was Bushong founded?

1887

The Bushong post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 193 in 19302020 census: 27139 years
Founding year: the first Bushong post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bushong’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 Bushong are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18854 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1985. Watch Bushong change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bushong’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bushong’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

Bushong on the map, 1885 to 1985

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

Bushong on the 1885 USGS mapBushong on the 1894 USGS mapBushong on the 1971 USGS mapBushong on the 1985 USGS map1885Eskridge 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 Bushong.

The story

How Bushong came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bushong.

Read it all →

The city, originally a whistle-stop of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, was first named Weeks. The city took its present name in 1886 in honor of St. Louis Browns catcher Albert J. "Doc" Bushong. Following the Browns' victory in the 1886 World Series over the Chicago White Stockings, the Missouri Pacific Railroad honored several of the St. Louis players by naming some of their depots after the players. Bushong had played every game in the series and was at bat in Game Six, when the winning run scored by stealing home. The city of Bushong is the only one still carrying its name from the 1886 World Series.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bushong, 1885 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1887Post officeThe Bushong post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1984Post officeThe Bushong post office closes
By decade

Bushong, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Abandoned Stores in2009Abandoned Stores inKSMap-doton-Bushong2004KSMap-doton-Bushong
People over time

Bushong, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 193

Between 27 and 193 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bushong

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

See all →
R. Lee ErmeyAmerican actor and soldier · b. 1944
A
Arthur SamuelAmerican computer scientist · b. 1901
Dean SmithAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
William Allen WhiteAmerican newspaper editor and Progressive leader · b. 1868
Clint BowyerAmerican racecar driver · b. 1979
Thelma HillAmerican actress · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bushong had its own post office from 1887 to 1984.

Bushong
1887–1984
18801950today

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

Questions about Bushong’s history

What year was Bushong founded?

The Bushong post office opened in 1887, 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, 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.