The Centropolis Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Saint Bernard (1855), Centropolis (1858) and Minneola (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,006168 years
How historic is Centropolis Township?
C
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Centropolis Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Centropolis Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Centropolis Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centropolis 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 Centropolis Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Centropolis Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was first settled by Perry Fuller in 1855, who established a store in order to trade with the nearby Ottawa Indians. His store prospered and in 1856 he established the Centropolis Town Company and began selling lots. The community name is a portmanteau of central and metropolis. A missionary newspaper published by Jotham Meeker for the Ottawa Baptist Mission was the first newspaper in Franklin County. The first commercial newspaper in the county, the Kansas Leader, was founded in 1857. Not only did Fuller expect his new town to become county seat but also the territorial capital of Kansas and eventually state capital.
The Centropolis Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Centropolis Township rank for history?
Centropolis Township is more historic than 35% 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.
How old are the homes in Centropolis Township?
17% of Centropolis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 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.
