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–Not graded
History · Durham Township

27% of Durham Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1891 on.

0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Durham 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 Durham Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1985. Watch Durham Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Durham Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Durham Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Durham 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

Durham Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Durham Township on the 1891 USGS mapDurham Township on the 1965 USGS mapDurham Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Clay Center 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 Durham Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

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

Widerange
1882–1904
Braid
1885–1890
18801950today
Gone or out of use
BraidlocaleCondray AirportairportWiderangelocale

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

The story so far

Durham Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Durham Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Durham Township is a township in Ottawa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 21 to 16 (-24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Durham Township, 1882 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Widerange post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Braid post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Braid post office closes
  5. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Widerange 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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Famous people

Famous people close to Durham Township

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

See all →
Patrice WymoreAmerican actress and singer · b. 1926
Peggy HullAmerican journalist · b. 1889
Bob CainAmerican baseball player · b. 1924
Frank RichardsAmerican entertainer · b. 1887
Everett W. StewartAmerican flying ace · b. 1915
Henry Granger KnightAmerican chemist · b. 1878
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chapman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOttawa 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 Durham Township’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.