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History · Culver

Culver’s post office opened in 1873, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1910.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Culver began, and where its name came from

When was Culver founded?

1873

The Culver post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 326 in 19102020 census: 114153 years

How did Culver get its name?

Culver was named after George Washington Culver, who was living in Ottawa County in August 1868 when he was recruited to be a scout for Col. George Forsyth, following the first Spillman-Bacon Creek Indian raid.

Founding year: the first Culver post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Culver’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 Culver are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1990. Watch Culver change.Old housesHalf of Culver’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Culver’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Culver’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

Culver on the map, 1892 to 1990

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

Culver on the 1892 USGS mapCulver on the 1942 USGS mapCulver on the 1955 USGS mapCulver on the 1978 USGS mapCulver on the 1985 USGS mapCulver on the 1990 USGS map1892Salina 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 Culver.

The story

How Culver came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Culver.

Read it all →

Culver was laid out circa 1878. It was named after George Washington Culver, who was living in Ottawa County in August 1868 when he was recruited to be a scout for Col. George Forsyth, following the first Spillman-Bacon Creek Indian raid. At daybreak on September 17, 1868, Forsyth's band of 50 civilian scouts was attacked by approximately 1,000 of Roman Nose's dog soldier warriors in northeastern Colorado Territory. This was known as Beecher Island. They took cover on a small sandy island in the middle of the Arickaree fork of the Republican River, about 17 miles south of present-day Wray, Colorado. The next three days were spent fighting and by the time the fighting ended, the scouts were out of rations and living on horse and mule meat. About half of the scouts were wounded at the outbreak of the fighting. Culver was one of five scouts killed or mortally wounded. Culver was buried at…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Culver, 1873 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Culver post office opens
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1984Post officeThe Culver 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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People over time

Culver, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 326

Between 114 and 326 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Culver

Nobody well known was born in Culver itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Adrianna FranchAmerican soccer player · b. 1990
G
George MurdockAmerican film actor · b. 1930
Geraldine L. RichmondAmerican chemist and physicist · b. 1953
Bill Graves43rd Governor of Kansas · b. 1953
John W. CarlinAmerican politician · b. 1940
H
Herbie HarperAmerican musician · b. 1920
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Culver had its own post office from 1873 to 1984.

Culver
1873–1984
18701950today

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

Questions about Culver’s history

What year was Culver founded?

The Culver post office opened in 1873, 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 Wikipedia, 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.