Colby’s post office opened in 1881, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #73 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Thomas County Courthouse, the Colby City Hall and the Colby Community High School. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Colby post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1885.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Colby’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colby is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #73 of 151 in Kansas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colby’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 Colby’s 5.6 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1885 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Colby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1882, a post office was established near the center of Thomas County. Area homesteaders lived under harsh conditions in sod houses, creating demand for a town to provide lumber and other provisions to incoming settlers. J.R. Colby, a local land assessor and preacher, obtained a patent to establish the town in April 1884, and land was acquired for the town site three miles north of the post office in March 1885. The following month, the Kansas Secretary of State issued the Town Charter. Kansas Gov. John Martin named Colby the county seat in 1885, and the city was incorporated in 1886. The Union Pacific Railroad reached the city in 1887, and the Rock Island Railroad followed the next year.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colby. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Colby 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 Colby.
Every building
Colby, building by building, 1907–1918
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Colby, census by census
Grew from 516 people in 1890 to 5,570 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colby’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Colby’s post office has been open since 1881.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Friendly Acres Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colby
BeulahSacred Heart
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Colby’s history
What year was Colby founded?
The Colby post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.
How does Colby rank for history?
Colby is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #73 of 151 in Kansas. 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 Colby?
Three places: the Thomas County Courthouse (listed 1976), the Colby City Hall (2003) and the Colby Community High School (2003).
How old are the homes in Colby?
15% of Colby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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