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History · Cedar

Cedar’s post office opened in 1906, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1920.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cedar began

When was Cedar founded?

1906

The Cedar post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 140 in 19202020 census: 11120 years
Founding year: the first Cedar post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cedar’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 Cedar 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 Cedar change.Old housesHalf of Cedar’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cedar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cedar’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

Cedar on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Cedar on the 1893 USGS mapCedar on the 1973 USGS mapCedar on the 1985 USGS map1893Smith Center 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 Cedar.

The story

How Cedar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cedar.

Read it all →

Cedar was a station and shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

The first post office in Cedar was established in 1871, but it was called Cedarville until 1906.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Cedar, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Cedar2005KSMap-doton-Cedar
People over time

Cedar, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 148

Between 11 and 148 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Cedar

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

See all →
Roscoe ArbuckleAmerican actor, director and comedian · b. 1887
B
Bruce GoffAmerican architect · b. 1904
Carl HatchAmerican politician · b. 1889
Kevin SaundersAmerican paralympian · b. 1955
N
Nolan CromwellAmerican football player · b. 1955
J
Janis LeeAmerican politician · b. 1945

Questions about Cedar’s history

What year was Cedar founded?

The Cedar post office opened in 1906, 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 (1), 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.