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CHistory
History · Edgerton

Edgerton dates to 1870, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1890.

1870founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Edgerton began, and where its name came from

When was Edgerton founded?

1870

Edgerton dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 321 in 18902020 census: 1,748156 years

How did Edgerton get its name?

Edgerton was named for the chief engineer of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

How historic is Edgerton?

C

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1861. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Edgerton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgerton is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edgerton’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.0% of homes (±10.7) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical KS town 5.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder

Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Edgerton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.7 points). Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Edgerton’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 Edgerton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Edgerton, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edgerton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edgerton’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
People over time

Edgerton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001900192019401960198020002020443 in 1910Low: 264

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Edgerton’s post office has been open since 1871. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lanesfield
1861–1870
Martinsburgh
1870–1871
Edgerton
1871–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Edgerton Mobile Home Park

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

The story

How Edgerton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edgerton.

Read it all →

Edgerton was founded in 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for the chief engineer of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

In October 2010, BNSF Railway announced plans to build its new 443-acre $250 million intermodal shipping facility in Edgerton, and after completion will replace the current one in Kansas City, Kansas. An adjacent $500 million industrial park with more than 7,000,000 square feet (650,000 m2) of warehouse space will be built over 10 years. It officially opened in October 2013. When the logistics park is fully built out, according to its 1,550-acre master plan, its capacity at that point will be 1.5 million containers annually.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Edgerton, 1915–1921

Passages that mention Edgerton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

back, during the Civil War period; he was followed by Father Francis J. Wattron, who came from Paola in 1866. In his time the Stone Church was built. It is supposed that he continued to visit this settlement until 1874. In 1870 the town of Edgerton was laid out and the railroad built. Henceforth th…
A centenary of Catholicity in Kansas, 1822-19221921 · page 201Read the page →
Read the text

back, during the Civil War period; he was followed by Father Francis J. Wattron, who came from Paola in 1866. In his time the Stone Church was built. It is supposed that he continued to visit this settlement until 1874. In 1870 the town of Edgerton was laid out and the railroad built. Henceforth the settlement was known as "Edgerton, Johnson County," but the parish boundary extends far into Miami County on the south side, and that fact is the cause of its inclusion in this volume. It would take a separate work to do justice to this— one of the oldest Catholic

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
after the railroad established the town of Edgerton. The main part of the Hotel DeTar building at Edgerton was formerly the United Presbyterian church at Lanesfield, and was brought here at the same time.
History of Johnson County, Kansas1915 · page 151Read the page →
Read the text

after the railroad established the town of Edgerton. The main part of the Hotel DeTar building at Edgerton was formerly the United Presbyterian church at Lanesfield, and was brought here at the same time.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Edgerton has a population of 450, is located on the Santa Fe railroad, fourteen miles southwest of Olathe, and is in a fertile farming country. It has three churches. The Methodist Episcopal church has a fine $10,000 building which was dedicated in October, 1913. Rev.
History of Johnson County, Kansas1915 · page 149Read the page →
Read the text

Edgerton has a population of 450, is located on the Santa Fe railroad, fourteen miles southwest of Olathe, and is in a fertile farming country. It has three churches. The Methodist Episcopal church has a fine $10,000 building which was dedicated in October, 1913. Rev.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"The Edgerton people did not only build three churches at Edgerton but were assessed to help build a residence and to furnish it at Baldwin. They helped to build the second church and residence at Olathe, and to furnish them. The stone church at Edgerton was built in or about the year of 1866-7."
A centenary of Catholicity in Kansas, 1822-19221921 · page 204Read the page →
Read the text

"The Edgerton people did not only build three churches at Edgerton but were assessed to help build a residence and to furnish it at Baldwin. They helped to build the second church and residence at Olathe, and to furnish them. The stone church at Edgerton was built in or about the year of 1866-7."

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Edgerton, 1861 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1861Post officeThe Lanesfield post office opens
  3. 1870
    FoundingEdgerton is established
  4. 1870Post officeThe Lanesfield post office closes
  5. 1870Post officeThe Martinsburgh post office opens
  6. 1871Post officeThe Martinsburgh post office closes
  7. 1871Post officeThe Edgerton post office opens
  8. 1896Born hereJohn Henry Balch is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,748
By decade

Edgerton, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Edgerton, KS2022Edgerton, KSEdgerton, Kansas water tower2021Edgerton, Kansas water towerCN 8952 the Grand Trunk Western Heritage Unit in Edgerton, Kansas 10-13-212021CN 8952 the Grand Trunk Western Heritage Unit in Edge…WB Covered Hopper Meets EB Manifest Edgerton, KS 3-11-172017WB Covered Hopper Meets EB Manifest Edgerton, KS 3-11…DPU on a WB Covered Hopper Edgerton, KS 12-15-162016DPU on a WB Covered Hopper Edgerton, KS 12-15-16CN 8911 Leads WB Covered Hopper Edgerton, KS 12-15-162016CN 8911 Leads WB Covered Hopper Edgerton, KS 12-15-16KSMap-doton-Edgerton2004KSMap-doton-Edgerton
On the map

Edgerton on the map, 1956 to 1978

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

Edgerton on the 1956 USGS mapEdgerton on the 1978 USGS map1956Edgerton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Edgerton.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

McCamish Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGardner TownshipIts storyC−Gardner4 historic placesC+

Questions about Edgerton’s history

What year was Edgerton founded?

In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Edgerton’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1890 counted 321 people here.

How does Edgerton rank for history?

Edgerton is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Edgerton?

17% of Edgerton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1976.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.