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History · Elwood Township

37% of Elwood Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1891 on.

0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Elwood 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 Elwood 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 Elwood Township change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elwood Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Elwood Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elwood Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elwood Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Elwood Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Elwood Township on the 1891 USGS mapElwood Township on the 1973 USGS mapElwood Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Medicine Lodge 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 Elwood Township.

Places that used to be

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

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

Canema
1882–1894
Eldred
1886–1908
Melior
1886–1891
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eldred
Gone or out of use
CanemalocaleMeliorlocale
1cemetery inside Elwood Township
Hardtner

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

The story so far

Elwood Township, in brief

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

Elwood Township is a township in Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 275.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 241 to 219 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Elwood Township, 1882 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Canema post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Eldred post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Melior post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Melior post office closes
  6. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1894Post officeThe Canema post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1908Post officeThe Eldred 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.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Elwood Township

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

See all →
Martina McBrideAmerican country singer · b. 1966
D
Dorothy DeLayAmerican musician and violin instructor · b. 1917
Jack GingUnited States actor and sportsman · b. 1931
Orville BrownAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1908
E
Edward Joseph HunkelerArchbishop of Kansas City · b. 1894
M
Marilyn MasonAmerican organist and music educator · b. 1925
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eagle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAetna TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKiowa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elwood 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.