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History · Chikaskia Township

Chikaskia Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chikaskia Township began

When was Chikaskia Township founded?

1871

The Chikaskia Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Chikaskia (1871) and Orie (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 47155 years
Founding year: the first Chikaskia Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chikaskia Township’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 Chikaskia Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Chikaskia Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chikaskia Township.Old housesHalf of Chikaskia Township’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chikaskia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chikaskia Township’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

Chikaskia Township on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Chikaskia Township on the 1889 USGS mapChikaskia Township on the 1893 USGS mapChikaskia Township on the 1971 USGS mapChikaskia Township on the 1985 USGS map1889Caldwell 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 Chikaskia Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chikaskia
1871–1886
Orie
1877–1893
18701950today
Gone or out of use
ChikaskialocaleOrielocaleWalta Oil Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Chikaskia Township
Chikaskia

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

The story so far

Chikaskia Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chikaskia Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 59 to 47 (-20%).

Timeline

Chikaskia Township, 1871 to 1893

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Chikaskia post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Orie post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Chikaskia post office closes
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1893Post officeThe Orie post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Caldwell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMorris TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRyan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDowns TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBluff TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Chikaskia Township’s history

What year was Chikaskia Township founded?

The Chikaskia Township post office opened in 1871, 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 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.