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History · Damar

Damar dates to 1888, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Joseph Catholic Church. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1940.

1888founded
1on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Damar began

When was Damar founded?

1888

Damar dates its founding to 1888 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 263 in 19402020 census: 112138 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Damar’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 Damar are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Damar change.Boom and bustPeaked at 361 in 1960; 112 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Damar’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Damar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Damar’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

Damar on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Damar on the 1893 USGS mapDamar on the 1969 USGS mapDamar on the 1985 USGS map1893Hill City 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 Damar.

People over time

Damar, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 361

Peaked at 361 in 1960; 112 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Damar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Damar.

Read it all →

Damar was established along the Union Pacific Railroad in 1888 by a community of French Canadian emigres. The community had emigrated from Canada as early as 1871, settling on farms along the Rooks County-Graham County line in northwestern Kansas. According to tradition, the community was named after D.M. Marr, the original owner of the town site.

The nearby Enfield Post Office was relocated to Damar in 1894.

St. Joseph Catholic Church was constructed in 1912. The church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

In 1920, Damar had three elevators, two implement dealerships, a hardware store, a lumber yard, a dry goods store, grocery stores, a barbershop, a bank, and an opera hall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Damar, 1888 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingDamar is established
  3. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1894Post officeThe Damar post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1917BuiltSt. Joseph Catholic Church is built
  7. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 361
By decade

Damar, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Graham Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Graham Co, Ks, USAMap
On the National Register

1 historic place in Damar

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic Church, built 1917
Buildings
St. Joseph Catholic ChurchBuilt 1917

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Damar

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

See all →
Dale DodrillAmerican football player · b. 1926
Veryl SwitzerAmerican football player · b. 1932
B
Brent CollinsActor · b. 1941
Mal StevensAmerican tennis player · b. 1900
H
Harry McGeeAmerican football player · b. 1905
D
Dane HansenAmerican businessman · b. 1883

Questions about Damar’s history

What year was Damar founded?

In 1888, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Damar’s post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1940 counted 263 people here.

What is on the National Register in Damar?

One place: the St. Joseph Catholic Church (listed 2005).

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 (1), 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) 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.