The Hoxie post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kenneth (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 245 in 18902020 census: 1,211140 years
How did Hoxie get its name?
Hoxie was named for H.M. Hoxie, a railroad official.
How historic is Hoxie?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hoxie is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hoxie’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 Hoxie’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 (±5.3 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 Hoxie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hoxie was laid out in early 1886. The town founders convinced the residents of Kenneth, a community three miles to the north and the current county seat, to move south (including their buildings) at their expense to the new site of Hoxie. The residents of Kenneth knew the coming rail line would pass through Hoxie and not their town as they had hoped, so the offer was promising. The towns agreed to consolidate and carry out that plan, making Hoxie the new county seat. It was named for H.M. Hoxie, a railroad official. The railroad (which became part of the Union Pacific Railroad) arrived in 1888.
The 99-mile Plainville-Colby branch of the Union Pacific railroad which passed through Hoxie was abandoned in 1998.
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.
Hoxie’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Kenneth, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kenneth
1879–1886
Hoxie
1886–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hoxie’s history
What year was Hoxie founded?
The Hoxie post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hoxie rank for history?
Hoxie is more historic than 34% 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 Hoxie?
16% of Hoxie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (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.
1939
1939
1939
2005
