Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1910.
Havana dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.
Havana was named after Havana, Illinois.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Havana’s history is told.
Peaked at 318 in 1920; 84 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Havana’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Havana.
Havana was founded about 1870, when a general store was built there. It was named after Havana, Illinois. The first post office in Havana was established in 1871.
Havana experienced growth in 1886 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was extended to that point. It incorporated as a city in 1910.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Havana, cut from the printed page as they were published.
which he cultivated until 1873. when he followed the example of hiss father and came out to Mjontgomerv county. He settled on an eightyacre tract three miles northeast of the present town of Havana, and which is a part of the valuable farm of 236 acres he now owns. Hpre he has engaged in general farming and his well-tilled acres demonstrates what persistent and intelligent agricultural effort will accomplish in Sunny Kansas. The small box house he erected on the eighty later was replaced by the commodious and handsome residence in which
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
passed on the home farm and in attendance at the district school aud an academy near by. After coming to Kansas, he entered the employ of the Santa Fe railroad aud remained one of their trusted men, until August of 1890, when he began the present drug business in Havana. He has here, one of the neatest stores in the county, carrying a full line of everything included in the stock of an average drug store in the smaller towns. His courteous treatment of the large trade which he enjoys has made his venture a profitable one. He is also interested in agriculture,
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Havana. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Havana.
Nobody well known was born in Havana itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Havana’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1910 counted 227 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.
2005
2005
