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History · Howard Township

Howard Township’s post office opened in 1870, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Howard Township began

When was Howard Township founded?

1870

The Howard Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lima (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 683 in 18802020 census: 713156 years
Founding year: the first Howard Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Howard Township’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 Howard Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18853 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1985. Watch Howard Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,207 in 1900; 570 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Howard Township’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Howard Township’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

Howard Township on the map, 1885 to 1985

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

Howard Township on the 1885 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1964 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1985 USGS map1885Sedan 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 Howard Township.

People over time

Howard Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,207

Peaked at 1,207 in 1900; 570 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Howard Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Howard Township.

Read it all →

Howard was founded in 1870, and it was incorporated as a city in 1877. Howard was involved in the Great Howard-Sedan War circa 1875. The rivalry was from a disagreement on where the county seat should be. The conflict was very brutal, but ultimately ended in a county line split. A memorial to the victors (Elk County) in the likeness of Bombarillo Crocodillo was placed to honor the lives lost. Howard was named after Oliver O. Howard, a Union Army general during the Civil War and founder of Howard University. The first post office in Howard was established in February, 1870. As of 1901, Howard was a sundown town where African Americans were not allowed to live.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Howard Township, 1874 to 1900

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Lima post office opens
  3. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1887Post officeThe Lima post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,207
By decade

Howard Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Elk County, KS Courthouse2023Elk County, KS CourthouseDetailed map of Howard, Kansas2010Detailed map of Howard, KansasMapKSMap-doton-Howard2004KSMap-doton-Howard
On the National Register

2 historic places in Howard Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Lima, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Antioch ChurchchurchAntioch SchoolschoolDunkleberger Oil FieldoilfieldFairview SchoolschoolLimalocale
1cemetery inside Howard Township
Grace Lawn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Union Center TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPaw Paw TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElk Falls Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPainterhood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWildcat TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Howard Township’s history

What year was Howard Township founded?

The Howard Township post office opened in 1870, 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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.