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History · Dexter Township

Dexter Township’s post office opened in 1870, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dexter Township began

When was Dexter Township founded?

1870

The Dexter Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Eli (1884) and Hooser (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 146 in 18802020 census: 374156 years
Founding year: the first Dexter Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dexter Township’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 Dexter Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Dexter Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 512 in 1910; 224 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dexter Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dexter Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dexter Township’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

Dexter Township on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Dexter Township on the 1889 USGS mapDexter Township on the 1962 USGS mapDexter Township on the 1985 USGS map1889Burden 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 Dexter Township.

People over time

Dexter Township, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 512

Peaked at 512 in 1910; 224 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Dexter Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dexter Township.

Read it all →

The first post office at Dexter was established in July, 1870.

Platted in 1875, Dexter is named for a trotting horse belonging to Robert Bonner of New York.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dexter Township, 1884 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Eli post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Eli post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Hooser post office opens
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 512
  8. 1944Post officeThe Hooser post office closes
By decade

Dexter Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USAMap
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eli
1884–1887
Hooser
1887–1944
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hooser
Gone or out of use
Fairview SchoolschoolGospel Ridge SchoolschoolHighland SchoolschoolMount Knowledge SchoolschoolPlum Creek SchoolschoolStar Valley Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Dexter Township
Dexter

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Liberty Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSheridan Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOtter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCedar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWindsor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpring Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dexter Township’s history

What year was Dexter Township founded?

The Dexter Township post office opened in 1870, 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 →
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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), 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.