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History · Howard

Howard’s post office opened in 1870, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Elk County Courthouse and the Howard National Bank. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
2on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Howard began

When was Howard founded?

1870

The Howard post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 683 in 18802020 census: 570156 years
Founding year: the first Howard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Howard’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18854 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1985. Watch Howard change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,207 in 1900; 570 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1912, drew every building in Howard.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Howard’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 on the map, 1885 to 1985

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

Howard on the 1885 USGS mapHoward on the 1964 USGS mapHoward on the 1979 USGS mapHoward 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.

People over time

Howard, 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’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Howard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Howard.

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, 1870 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Howard post office opens
  3. 1873Born hereClaude Albright is born here
  4. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,207
  7. 1907BuiltElk County Courthouse is built
  8. 1997Born hereIsaiahh Loudermilk is born here
By decade

Howard, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Elk County, KS Courthouse2023Elk County, KS CourthouseDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Howard2004KSMap-doton-Howard
Every building

Howard, building by building, 1885–1912

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.

Howard fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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

2 historic places in Howard

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
first listed
2009
Elk County Courthouse
Elk County Courthouse, built 1907Howard National Bank
Buildings
All 2 listings
Elk County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2009Howard National BankBuilding · listed 2020

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Howard

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

See all →
I
Isaiahh LoudermilkAmerican football player · b. 1997
Claude AlbrightAmerican opera singer · b. 1873

Questions about Howard’s history

What year was Howard founded?

The Howard post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Howard?

Two places: the Elk County Courthouse (listed 2009) and the Howard National Bank (2020).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.