Fort Scott’s post office opened in 1843, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #1 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Fort Scott National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 70 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: the first Fort Scott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Scott’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Scott is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #1 of 151 in Kansas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Scott’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 Fort Scott’s 106 sits above most of its state (95% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 80 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Fort Scott’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Established and garrisoned by the U.S. Army from 1842 to 1853, soldiers at military Fort Scott assisted with the protection of the Permanent Indian Frontier. After the army abandoned the fort in 1853, the buildings were purchased by local settlers at a government auction in 1855. The community of Fort Scott was laid out in 1857, and was chartered as a city in 1860.
Passages that mention Fort Scott, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bourbon County, Kansas. To the close of 18651894 · page 76Read the page →
Read the text
in aiding all railroad enterprises looking towards Fort Scott, and in 1874 he took hold individually of a railway project for a road in a southeastern direction from Fort Scott, and after completing a section of several miles he finally transfered it to the Kansas City, Fcrt Scott and Gulf Railroad Company, and his conception and original labors resulted in the construction of the great trunk line to Memphis, Tennes-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bourbon County, Kansas. To the close of 18651894 · page 148Read the page →
Read the text
"An act to amend an act to incorporate the town of Fort Scott." Section First provided: "That all that district of land described as follows, to-wit : — The southwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section Thirty, Township Twenty-five, of Range Twenty-five, be and hereby
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
Fort Scott, 1843 to 1982
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.
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.
Fort Scott’s post office has been open since 1843.
Gone or out of use
Hawkins SchoolschoolMercy Health Center HeliportairportOld Fort Scottmilitary
1cemetery inside Fort Scott
Fort Scott National
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Fort Scott’s history
What year was Fort Scott founded?
The Fort Scott post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fort Scott rank for history?
Fort Scott is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #1 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 Fort Scott?
10 listings: 7 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott Downtown Historic District, with 70 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 80 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fort Scott?
44% of Fort Scott’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1946.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
★ Landmark
