Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Detroit

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
Detroit, Kansas School HousePhoto: Paulmcdonald · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Detroit

Detroit’s post office opened in 1866, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Paulmcdonald · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Detroit began

When was Detroit founded?

1866

The Detroit post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 102160 years
Founding year: the first Detroit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Detroit’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 Detroit are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1990. Watch Detroit change.Old housesHalf of Detroit’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Detroit’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Detroit’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

Detroit on the map, 1889 to 1990

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

Detroit on the 1889 USGS mapDetroit on the 1894 USGS mapDetroit on the 1964 USGS mapDetroit on the 1979 USGS mapDetroit on the 1985 USGS mapDetroit on the 1990 USGS map1889Abilene 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 Detroit.

The story

How Detroit came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Detroit.

Read it all →

The community was named after Detroit, Michigan. In the early years of the county, Detroit was once strongly considered to be the county seat because Abilene was considered to be "too wild" of a town to serve as a center of government. However, Abilene became the county seat and Detroit ceased to grow from that point forward.

A post office was opened in Detroit in 1866, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1961.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Detroit, decade by decade

Today3 recent
The Beer Joint2013The Beer JointDetroit, Kansas School House2013Detroit, Kansas School HouseDetroit , Kansas2012Detroit , Kansas

Questions about Detroit’s history

What year was Detroit founded?

The Detroit post office opened in 1866, 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 (3), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.