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History · Gas

Gas dates to 1898, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1910.

1898founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: MakolWanaGi at en.wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Gas began

When was Gas founded?

1898

Gas dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,281 in 19102020 census: 475128 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1899.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gas’ 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 Gas are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18866 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Gas change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gas’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gas on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Gas on the 1886 USGS mapGas on the 1893 USGS mapGas on the 1904 USGS mapGas on the 1965 USGS mapGas on the 1984 USGS mapGas on the 1990 USGS map1886Iola 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 Gas.

The story

How Gas came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gas.

Read it all →

When natural gas was discovered in Elm Township in the summer of 1898 E.K. Taylor sold 60 acres (24 ha) of his farm to some spelter companies and in October sub-divided the remainder into lots, which was the beginning of "Gas City". The place grew rapidly, the cheap fuel afforded by the immense supply of natural gas bringing in a number of large manufacturing plants of various kinds. In 1910 the population was 1,281, and the city had a bank, a daily and a weekly newspaper, an opera house, an international money order postoffice (first opened in August 1899) from which mail was distributed to the surrounding country by rural free delivery, several good mercantile houses, telegraph and express offices.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gas, 1886 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1898
    FoundingGas is established
  4. 1899Post officeThe Gas post office opens
By decade

Gas, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Gaskanwatertower2007GaskanwatertowerKSMap-doton-Gas2004KSMap-doton-Gas
Every building

Gas, building by building, 1906–1916

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.

Gas fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 8
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Gas, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,281

Between 294 and 1,281 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Gas’s post office has been open since 1899.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Trailside Mobile Home ParkTrailside Mobile Home Village
1cemetery inside Gas
Gas City

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

Questions about Gas’ history

What year was Gas founded?

In 1898, according to Wikidata. Gas’ post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1910 counted 1,281 people here.

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 (2), Wikipedia, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.