What drives Center-District 1 Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Center-District 1 Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Center-District 1 Township’s 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 Center-District 1 Township’s 7.7 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±26.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Center-District 1 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Devizes
1874–1926
Brett
1880–1887
Hanback
1884–1892
Rockwell City
1884–1904
Smithton
1884–1886
Calvert
1885–1953
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CalvertDevizesRockwell
Gone or out of use
BrettlocaleBunty SchoolschoolDry Creek SchoolschoolExcelsior SchoolschoolHanbacklocaleHighland ChurchchurchHillman SchoolschoolHudson Pillar SchoolschoolLone Hand SchoolschoolPleasant Valley SchoolschoolRose Hill SchoolschoolSchool Number 35schoolSmithtonlocaleStatespurlocaleWalnut Ridge Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Center-District 1 Township
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Center-District 1 Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Center-District 1 Township is a township in Norton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,521. The city of Norton is surrounded by the township but is independent of it.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,393 to 1,521 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Center-District 1 Township, 1874 to 1951
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Center-District 1 Township on the map, 1951 to 1965
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Center-District 1 Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Norton 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 Center-District 1 Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Center-District 1 Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Questions about Center-District 1 Township’s history
How does Center-District 1 Township rank for history?
Center-District 1 Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Center-District 1 Township?
One place: the West Sappa Creek Lattice (listed 1990).
How old are the homes in Center-District 1 Township?
55% of Center-District 1 Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±26.7 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
