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History · Halstead Township

Halstead Township dates to 1873, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Bergtholdt House. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.

1873founded
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Halstead Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Halstead Township began

When was Halstead Township founded?

1873

Halstead Township dates its founding to 1873 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,071 in 18902020 census: 392153 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Halstead Township’s past

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

On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1985. Watch Halstead Township change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Halstead Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Halstead Township on the 1891 USGS mapHalstead Township on the 1959 USGS mapHalstead Township on the 1978 USGS mapHalstead Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Hutchinson 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 Halstead Township.

The story

How Halstead Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Halstead Township.

Read it all →

Halstead was laid out in 1873. The first post office at Halstead was established in April 1873. Halstead was incorporated as a city in 1877.

Arthur Hertzler, the "Horse-and-Buggy Doctor," devoted much of his life and energies to the medical environment of Halstead, founding the Hertzler Hospital, a clinic and hospital for the area residents, later known as the Halstead Hospital.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Halstead Township, 1873 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingHalstead Township is established
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912In the archiveEast - on - 5th St. Halstead - Kans
  6. 1974In the archiveABANDONED SANTA FE DEPOT SIGN WHICH ONCE BECKONED TRAVELERS AT HALSTEAD, KANSAS, NOW RUST…
By decade

Halstead Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s7 items
East - on - 5th St. Halstead - Kans1912East - on - 5th St. Halstead - KansView - on - South - Main - St. - Halstead - Kans1912View - on - South - Main - St. - Halstead - KansSouvenir - No. 2 - Riverside - Park. Halstead - Kans1912Souvenir - No. 2 - Riverside - Park. Halstead - KansKit - Carson - Tree - Riverside - Park - Halstead - Kans1912Kit - Carson - Tree - Riverside - Park - Halstead - K…Boat - landing - no. 2 - Riverside - Park - Halstead - Kans1912Boat - landing - no. 2 - Riverside - Park - Halstead …Boat - landing - no. 3 Riverside - Park. Halstead - Kans1912Boat - landing - no. 3 Riverside - Park. Halstead - K…Halstead Depot1916Halstead Depot
1920s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
ABANDONED SANTA FE DEPOT SIGN WHICH ONCE BECKONED TRAVELERS AT HALSTEAD, KANSAS, NOW RUSTS IN WEEDS BEHIND THE... - NAR…1974ABANDONED SANTA FE DEPOT SIGN WHICH ONCE BECKONED TRA…
1980s–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
Today8 recent
16halsteadheritagwmusum4201616halsteadheritagwmusum4Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Harvey County2013Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Harvey Co…MapDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapSpring Lake RV Resort, Halstead, Kansas, August 13, 20072007Spring Lake RV Resort, Halstead, Kansas, August 13, 2…Oldhertzlersign2007OldhertzlersignNewhertzlersign2007NewhertzlersignHalsteadKansas2007HalsteadKansasKSMap-doton-Halstead2004KSMap-doton-Halstead
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.

East - on - 5th St. Halstead - Kans
Retake this viewEast - on - 5th St. Halstead - Kans, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Halstead Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Bergtholdt House
Bergtholdt House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Bergtholdt HouseBuilding · listed 1996

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

People over time

Halstead Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019001920194019601980200020202,179

Grew from 1,071 people in 1890 to 2,179 in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Paxton
Gone or out of use
Fairview Elementary SchoolschoolHalstead Oil FieldoilfieldHarmony Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Halstead Township
FairviewHalstead

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

Help out

Finish Halstead Township’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 viewEast - on - 5th St. Halstead - Kans: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Halstead3 historic placesB+Macon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurrton TownshipIts storyB−Garden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Halstead Township’s history

What year was Halstead Township founded?

In 1873, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 1,071 people here.

What is on the National Register in Halstead Township?

One place: the Bergtholdt House (listed 1996).

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 (10), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.