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History · Enterprise

Enterprise’s post office opened in 1873, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hoffman and Lamb Buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
1on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Enterprise’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Enterprise began, and where its name came from

When was Enterprise founded?

1873

The Enterprise post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883.

First census: 411 in 18802020 census: 708153 years

How did Enterprise get its name?

Enterprise was named for the enterprising qualities of the pioneer settlers.

Founding year: the first Enterprise post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Enterprise’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,015 in 1960; 708 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Enterprise’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · People over time

Enterprise, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,015

Peaked at 1,015 in 1960; 708 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Enterprise came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Enterprise.

Read it all →

The first settlement at Enterprise was in 1868, and Enterprise was laid out in 1872. It was named for the enterprising qualities of the pioneer settlers.

The first post office in Enterprise was established in January 1873.

On January 10, 1883, the Enterprise Town Company, with capital of $50,000, was organized. The following officers were elected: V. P. Wilson, president; John Johntz, vice-president; C. Hoffman, treasurer; T. C. Henry, secretary.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Enterprise, 1873 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Enterprise post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917In the archiveKansas
  5. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,015
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1968In the archiveCAST STEEL BOLSTER-SOUTH ABUTMENT - Enterprise Parker Truss Bridge, Spanning Smoky Hill R…
By decade

Enterprise, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Kansas1917KansasKansas1917Kansas
1920s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s4 items
CAST STEEL BOLSTER-SOUTH ABUTMENT - Enterprise Parker Truss Bridge, Spanning Smoky Hill River on K-43 Highway, Enterpri…1968CAST STEEL BOLSTER-SOUTH ABUTMENT - Enterprise Parker…COUNTER DIAGONAL BRACES - Enterprise Parker Truss Bridge, Spanning Smoky Hill River on K-43 Highway1968COUNTER DIAGONAL BRACES - Enterprise Parker Truss Bri…DECORATIVE RAIL ON SIDEWALK - Enterprise Parker Truss Bridge, Spanning Smoky Hill River on K-43 Highway1968DECORATIVE RAIL ON SIDEWALK - Enterprise Parker Truss…EAST SIDE LOOKING WEST-NORTHWEST - Enterprise Parker Truss Bridge, Spanning Smoky Hill River on K-43 Highway, Enterpris…1968EAST SIDE LOOKING WEST-NORTHWEST - Enterprise Parker …
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Enterprise on the map, 1964 to 1979

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

Enterprise on the 1964 USGS mapEnterprise on the 1979 USGS map1964Chapman 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 Enterprise.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Kansas
Retake this viewKansas, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Enterprise’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Enterprise

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2017
Hoffman and Lamb Buildings
Hoffman and Lamb Buildings
Buildings
Hoffman and Lamb BuildingsBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Enterprise

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

See all →
Harry BeaumontAmerican film director, actor, and screenwriter · b. 1888
Don IhdeAmerican philosopher · b. 1934
Earl D. EisenhowerAmerican politician · b. 1898
Milton Stover EisenhowerAmerican university president · b. 1899
R
Ralph FaulknerAmerican fencer and actor · b. 1891
Leo PiersonAmerican actor · b. 1888
Help out

Finish Enterprise’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKansas: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Enterprise’s history

What year was Enterprise founded?

The Enterprise post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.

What is on the National Register in Enterprise?

One place: the Hoffman and Lamb Buildings (listed 2017).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (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.