El Dorado’s post office opened in 1860, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #23 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 64 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The El Dorado post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1868. Two smaller post offices, Eldorado (1894) and Oil Hill (1917), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,411 in 18802020 census: 12,870166 years
How historic is El Dorado?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first El Dorado post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives El Dorado’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, El Dorado is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #23 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of El Dorado’s overall grade.
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 El Dorado’s 57.2 sits above most of its state (93% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 73 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1868 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 El Dorado’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
El Dorado was laid out and platted in 1868. The name is of Spanish origin meaning "golden land". El Dorado was incorporated in 1870.
In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado; in 1881 it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City. The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942. The original branch line connected Florence, Burns, De Graff, El Dorado, Augusta, Douglass, Rock, Akron, Winfield and Arkansas City.
Passages that mention El Dorado, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Butler County Kansas1916 · page 163Read the page →
Read the text
and a fe.w others were among the early settlers of what is now Lincoln township. A man by the name of Dick owned the land in section 26, through which the F. E. & W. V. railroad now runs, and Dick's Station was at one time the first station north of El Dorado, the postoffice being kept there and was called Woodward, after the maiden name of Mrs. Dick. There was no settlement north of this until you crossed the county line. A public road ran north to Florence and the U^nited States mail was carried through by that way to El Dorado, Winfield and Ar-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Butler County Kansas1916 · page 552Read the page →
Read the text
During his lifetime F. P. Gillespie was a prominent factor in the business and political life of Butler county. At one time he owned that section of the city of El Dorado, known as AValnut Hill, which he platted into town lots and sold at a good profit. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of El Dorado and was its first cashier, the first president being John Fouch. They erected the building on the southeast corner of Main and Central, where the Citizens National Bank is now located. In 1893 he purchased the farm in Towanda township which is
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
El Dorado, 1860 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The El Dorado post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1868.
How does El Dorado rank for history?
El Dorado is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #23 of 151 in Kansas. 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.
What is on the National Register in El Dorado?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the El Dorado Carnegie Library (listed 1987, the first), and 1 historic district, the El Dorado Historic District, with 64 contributing buildings. 73 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in El Dorado?
23% of El Dorado’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1959.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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