Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Holton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A−History
History · Holton

Holton dates to 1856, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #28 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1890.

1856founded
4on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Holton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Holton began

When was Holton founded?

1856

Holton dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 2,727 in 18902020 census: 3,401170 years

How historic is Holton?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Holton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holton is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #28 of 151 in Kansas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holton’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.3% of homes (±9.8) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 14.8 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 82%

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 Holton’s 14.8 sits above most of its state (72% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.8 points). Two sources give 1856.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Holton’s past

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

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1922, drew every building in Holton.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersLynn Jenkins, Bill James and 6 more were born here.Old housesHalf of Holton’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Every building

Holton, building by building, 1885–1922

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.

Holton fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Holton

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
State Bank of Holton
State Bank of HoltonMcFadden House, built 1949Holton Bath House, built 1938Hotel Josephine
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Rustic1
State Bank of HoltonBuilding
McFadden HouseBuilt 1949
Holton Bath HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1938
All 4 listings
Hotel JosephineBuilding · listed 2024

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Holton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Lynn JenkinsFormer U.S. Representative from Kansas · b. 1963
Bill JamesAmerican baseball writer and statistician · b. 1949
John Moore AllisonAmerican diplomat · b. 1905
K
Kendall McComasAmerican child actor · b. 1916
B
Becky HutchinsAmerican politician · b. 1949
Jory CollinsAmerican basketball coach · b. 1978
The story

How Holton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Holton.

Read it all →

The party that chose the site of Holton started at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in May 1856. A train of six covered wagons, each drawn by two yoke of oxen, started the long trek to take Free State settlers to Kansas. They were financed by the Kansas Society of Milwaukee which was headed by Edward Dwight Holton, the Milwaukee abolitionist. They met General James H. Lane with two hundred men at Nebraska City, Nebraska, a rendezvous for Free State men. They followed the Jim Lane Road into Kansas approximately thirty miles. They came to Elk Creek, 2+1⁄2 miles west of Holton, where they cut timbers to make a bridge, crossed it and made camp where Central School now stands. They liked the two streams (later named Banner Creek and Elk Creek) and the pleasant grassy hills, so they decided to stay. A company was organized and a civil engineer who was with them commenced the survey. They named the new …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Holton, 1856 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingHolton is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Holton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archivePostcard of Main Building at Campbell College in
  6. 1905Born hereJohn Moore Allison is born here
  7. 1912In the archiveCampbell college
  8. 1916Born hereKendall McComas is born here
  9. 1938BuiltHolton Bath House is built
  10. 1949BuiltMcFadden House is built
  11. 1949Born hereBill James is born here
  12. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1963Born hereLynn Jenkins is born here
By decade

Holton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
Postcard of Main Building at Campbell College in1900Postcard of Main Building at Campbell College inPostcardLane College Merges with Campbell College1902Lane College Merges with Campbell CollegeCampbell college1912Campbell college
1920s–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
Date unknown2 to date
DowntownDate?DowntownPortrait of child by W M Oaks ofDate?Portrait of child by W M Oaks of
Today5 recent
Holton KS watertower2025Holton KS watertowerLustron House2019Lustron HouseHolton Bath House2014Holton Bath HouseHolton (Kansas) State Bank2014Holton (Kansas) State BankHolton KS 20072007Holton KS 2007
On the map

Holton on the map, 1960 to 1978

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

Holton on the 1960 USGS mapHolton on the 1978 USGS map1960Holton 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 Holton.

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.

Postcard of Main Building at Campbell College in
Retake this viewPostcard of Main Building at Campbell College in, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Holton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,401

Between 2,703 and 3,401 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Help out

Start Holton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPostcard of Main Building at Campbell C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Holton’s history

What year was Holton founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. Holton’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1890 counted 2,727 people here.

How does Holton rank for history?

Holton is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #28 of 151 in Kansas. 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.

What is on the National Register in Holton?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the State Bank of Holton (listed 1977, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Holton?

35% of Holton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1963.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), 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.