The community was founded in 1868 by American southerners traveling westward after the American Civil War. The city received its name from one settler who had once lived on the island of Cuba. Other early settlers of Cuba are Czech immigrants from Bohemia who settled in Cuba in the mid-1870s. Originally, the majority of the population of Cuba were of Czech and Austrian descent.
The entire town of Cuba moved to its present location in 1884 in order to be on the railroad that had been built through that region.
The Bohemian church at Cuba was organized in 1876 but meetings had been held at school houses in the neighborhood of Tabor prior to that lime. The church was divided in 1888, one part remaining at Cuba under the Presbytery and the other establishing itself at Munden as an independent Bohemia Reform church, having a pastor of its own and owning its house of worship.
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A history of Republic county, Kansas1901 · page 187Read the page →
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The old town of Cuba was located on the NW i of section 4, in Richland township, and on the SW i of section 33 in Farmington township, on the main road leading from Belleville to Washington. John Swan built the first business house there in 1873 and for several years it was a place of considerable trade.
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A history of Republic County, Kansas1901 · page 187Read the page →
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The old town of Cuba was located on the NW i of section 4, in Richland township, and on the SW i of section 33 in Farmington township, on the main road leading from Belleville to Washington. John Swan built the first business house there in 1873 and for several years it was a place of considerable trade.
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A history of Republic County, Kansas1901 · page 41Read the page →
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In the spring of 1868, an office was established at Cuba, and Z. P. Rowe appointed postmaster. This was the second post-office established in Republic county.
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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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
