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History · Hamilton

Hamilton’s post office opened in 1875, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1890.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hamilton began

When was Hamilton founded?

1875

The Hamilton post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 206 in 18902020 census: 182151 years
Founding year: the first Hamilton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hamilton’s 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 Hamilton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18855 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1990. Watch Hamilton change.Old housesHalf of Hamilton’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 549 in 1930; 182 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hamilton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamilton’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

Hamilton on the map, 1885 to 1990

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

Hamilton on the 1885 USGS mapHamilton on the 1894 USGS mapHamilton on the 1971 USGS mapHamilton on the 1985 USGS mapHamilton on the 1990 USGS map1885Eureka 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 Hamilton.

The story

How Hamilton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hamilton.

Read it all →

Hamilton was founded about 1879. The city was named in honor of Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury.

Hamilton was a station and shipping point on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hamilton, 1875 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Hamilton post office opens
  3. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 549
  6. 1956Born hereWill Carpenter is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
People over time

Hamilton, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 549

Peaked at 549 in 1930; 182 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Hamilton’s history

What year was Hamilton founded?

The Hamilton post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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) 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.