Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cunningham

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Cunningham

Cunningham’s post office opened in 1888, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

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

1888first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Cunningham began

When was Cunningham founded?

1888

The Cunningham post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ninnescah (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 395 in 19102020 census: 444138 years
Founding year: the first Cunningham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cunningham’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 Cunningham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18923 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1985. Watch Cunningham change.Boom and bustPeaked at 618 in 1960; 444 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Cunningham’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cunningham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cunningham’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

Cunningham on the map, 1892 to 1985

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

Cunningham on the 1892 USGS mapCunningham on the 1966 USGS mapCunningham on the 1985 USGS map1892Kingman 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 Cunningham.

People over time

Cunningham, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 618

Peaked at 618 in 1960; 444 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Cunningham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cunningham.

Read it all →

The history of Cunningham starts with the town of Ninnescah, which was located near and named after the Ninnescah River. The Ninnescah Post Office opened August 20, 1885. Later the town of Cunningham was established a few miles to the west, on the north side of the railroad. There was a movement among the locals to move the town of Ninnescah to Cunningham. Some buildings were physically moved from Ninnescah to Cunningham in 1887 and 1888. A tornado destroyed most of Ninnescah on March 24, 1888, which sealed its fate.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cunningham, 1885 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Ninnescah post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Ninnescah post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Cunningham post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1898Born hereEverett Shelton is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1930Born hereBob Blasi is born here
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 618
By decade

Cunningham, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapPost office cunningham kansas 20092009Post office cunningham kansas 2009Cunningham kansas high school 20092009Cunningham kansas high school 2009Cunningham kansas clinic 20092009Cunningham kansas clinic 2009
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cunningham

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Everett SheltonAmerican football player, basketball coach, col… · b. 1898
B
Bob BlasiAmerican football coach · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cunningham’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Ninnescah, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ninnescah
1885–1888
Cunningham
1888–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Green Acres Trailer Court
1cemetery inside Cunningham
Sacred Heart Catholic

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

Questions about Cunningham’s history

What year was Cunningham founded?

The Cunningham post office opened in 1888, 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 Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.