Most of Holcomb was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1910.
The Holcomb post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sherlock (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 75 in 19102020 census: 2,245117 years
How historic is Holcomb?
D
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Holcomb post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Holcomb’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holcomb is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holcomb’s overall grade.
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 Holcomb’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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Holcomb’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Holcomb took its name from a local hog farmer. The city was a station and shipping point on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The first post office in Holcomb was established in December 1909.
Holcomb was the site of the Clutter family murders in 1959. Two ex-convicts, Richard Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, were convicted of the killings. The murders were the basis for the 1966 book In Cold Blood, the 1967 movie In Cold Blood, the 1996 TV miniseries adaptation, the 2005 movie Capote, and the 2006 film Infamous.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Holcomb. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Garden City West sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Holcomb.
People over time
Holcomb, census by census
Grew from 75 people in 1910 to 2,245 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Holcomb’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Holcomb’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Sherlock, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sherlock
1878–1901
Holcomb
1909–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Acres West Mobile Home Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Holcomb’s history
What year was Holcomb founded?
The Holcomb post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Holcomb rank for history?
Holcomb is more historic than 10% 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 Holcomb?
5% of Holcomb’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1990.
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), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
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