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BHistory
History · Chapman

Chapman dates to 1868, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despatch Segment. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1868founded
1on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: The All Nite Images · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Chapman began, and where its name came from

When was Chapman founded?

1868

Chapman dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 114 in 18802020 census: 1,377158 years

How did Chapman get its name?

Chapman was named after the Chapman Creek.

More on the name

The first post office at Chapman was established in 1866, but the post office was given the name Chapman's Creek until 1872.

How historic is Chapman?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chapman’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chapman is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chapman’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.2% of homes (±9.0) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 6.9 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

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 Chapman’s 6.9 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). Two sources give 1868.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Chapman’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 Chapman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1912, drew every building in Chapman.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chapman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chapman’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
Every building

Chapman, building by building, 1892–1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Chapman fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Chapman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chapman.

Read it all →

The first settlement was made at Chapman in 1868, and the same year Jackman's mill was built on Chapman Creek, a little northeast of the present town. James Streeter and S. M. Strickler laid out the town in 1871. It was named after the Chapman Creek.

The first post office at Chapman was established in 1866, but the post office was given the name Chapman's Creek until 1872.

Chapters2008 tornadoExtreme Makeover: Home Edition2016 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chapman, 1866 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Chapman's Creek post office opens
  3. 1868
    FoundingChapman is established
  4. 1872Post officeThe Chapman's Creek post office closes
  5. 1872Post officeThe Chapman post office opens
  6. 1887Born hereHenry Varnum Poor is born here
  7. 1887Born hereVincent Erwin is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chapman, decade by decade

Today11 recent
A progression of power poles and grass colors near Chapman, Kansas2021A progression of power poles and grass colors near Ch…Farm machinery Chapman KS 20162016Farm machinery Chapman KS 2016Business District Chapman Kansas 6-3-20142014Business District Chapman Kansas 6-3-2014Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapFEMA - 37576 - Chapman, KS, Tornado Damage2008FEMA - 37576 - Chapman, KS, Tornado DamageFEMA - 37574 - Chapman, KS Tornado Damage to Chapman Elementary School2008FEMA - 37574 - Chapman, KS Tornado Damage to Chapman …FEMA - 37573 - Chapman, KS, Tornado Damage damage to middle school2008FEMA - 37573 - Chapman, KS, Tornado Damage damage to …FEMA - 37572 - Chapman, KS, Tornado Damage to middle school2008FEMA - 37572 - Chapman, KS, Tornado Damage to middle …FEMA - 37570 - Chapman, Kansas Tornado damage2008FEMA - 37570 - Chapman, Kansas Tornado damageChapman tornado damage2008Chapman tornado damageKSMap-doton-Chapman2004KSMap-doton-Chapman
On the map

Chapman on the map, 1964 to 1979

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

Chapman on the 1964 USGS mapChapman on the 1979 USGS map1964Chapman sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chapman.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Chapman

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despa…
Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despatch Segment
Sites
All 1 listings
Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despatch SegmentSite · listed 2015

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Chapman, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,393

Between 114 and 1,393 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Chapman

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
H
Henry Varnum PoorAmerican painter, potter, and architect · b. 1887
V
Vincent ErwinAmerican equestrian · b. 1887
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Chapman’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Chapman's Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chapman's Creek
1866–1872
Chapman
1872–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Shamrock Mobile Home Estates

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

Questions about Chapman’s history

What year was Chapman founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Chapman’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1880 counted 114 people here.

How does Chapman rank for history?

Chapman is more historic than 63% 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 Chapman?

One place: the Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despatch Segment (listed 2015).

How old are the homes in Chapman?

28% of Chapman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.