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History · Chase

Chase’s post office opened in 1881, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Chase began

When was Chase founded?

1881

The Chase post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 358 in 18902020 census: 396145 years
Founding year: the first Chase post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chase’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 Chase are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Chase change.Boom and bustPeaked at 961 in 1950; 396 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chase’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chase’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chase’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Chase on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Chase on the 1894 USGS mapChase on the 1970 USGS mapChase on the 1985 USGS map1894Lyons 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 Chase.

People over time

Chase, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 961

Peaked at 961 in 1950; 396 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Chase came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chase.

Read it all →

In 1878, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and parties from Marion and McPherson counties chartered the Marion and McPherson Railway Company. In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to McPherson; in 1880 it was extended to Lyons and in 1881 was extended to Ellinwood. The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence to Marion was abandoned in 1968. In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to Central Kansas Railway. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. The original branch line connected Florence, Marion, Canada, Hillsboro, Lehigh, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Conway, Windom, Little River, Mitchell, Lyons, Chase and Ellinwood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chase, 1881 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Chase post office opens
  3. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 961
  6. 21st century
  7. 2000Born hereBrent Maher is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Questions about Chase’s history

What year was Chase founded?

The Chase post office opened in 1881, 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 →
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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 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) 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.