Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Garden Plain Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C−History
History · Garden Plain Township

Garden Plain Township’s post office opened in 1875

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Garden Plain Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1910.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Garden Plain Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Garden Plain Township began

When was Garden Plain Township founded?

1875

The Garden Plain Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1884.

First census: 296 in 19102020 census: 1,998151 years

How historic is Garden Plain Township?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Garden Plain Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Garden Plain Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garden Plain Township is more historic than 23% 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 Garden Plain Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1875, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.0% of homes (±2.1) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 23%
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 Garden Plain Township’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1884 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 Garden Plain 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1990. Watch Garden Plain Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Garden Plain Township’s collection

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

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

Garden Plain Township on the map, 1889 to 1990

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

Garden Plain Township on the 1889 USGS mapGarden Plain Township on the 1891 USGS mapGarden Plain Township on the 1901 USGS mapGarden Plain Township on the 1965 USGS mapGarden Plain Township on the 1982 USGS mapGarden Plain Township on the 1990 USGS map1889Cheney 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 Garden Plain Township.

The story

How Garden Plain Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Garden Plain Township.

Read it all →

Garden Plain got its start following construction of the Wichita and Western Railroad from Wichita to Kingman.

The first post office in Garden Plain was established in January 1883. Garden Plain was incorporated in 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Garden Plain Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Frosty Treat1993Frosty Treat
Today3 recent
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in2026St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church inDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Garden Plain2005KSMap-doton-Garden Plain
People over time

Garden Plain Township, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020948

Grew from 296 people in 1910 to 948 in 2020, 3 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Garden Plain Township

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

See all →
C
Colton HaynesAmerican actor and model · b. 1986
Derek NorrisAmerican baseball player · b. 1989
Miles UkaomaNigerian athlete · b. 1992
Howard J. McMurrayAmerican politician · b. 1901
Ernie MaunAmerican baseball player · b. 1901
Ed SieverAmerican baseball player · b. 1875
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Marys
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Garden Plain Township
MulkeySaint Marys

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Afton TownshipIts storyDAttica Township1 historic placeCGrand River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSherman TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Garden Plain Township’s history

What year was Garden Plain Township founded?

The Garden Plain Township post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1884.

How does Garden Plain Township rank for history?

Garden Plain Township is more historic than 23% 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 Garden Plain Township?

7% of Garden Plain Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.