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City Square Park Bandstand NRHP 13001036 Allen County, KSPhoto: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Humboldt Township

Humboldt Township dates to 1857, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1857founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Humboldt Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Humboldt Township began

When was Humboldt Township founded?

1857

Humboldt Township dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,202 in 18702020 census: 241169 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Humboldt 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18866 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Humboldt Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,558 in 1930; 1,847 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Humboldt Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHumboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Humboldt Township on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Humboldt Township on the 1886 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1893 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1904 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1966 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1984 USGS mapHumboldt Township on the 1990 USGS map1886Iola 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 Humboldt Township.

People over time

Humboldt Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,558

Peaked at 2,558 in 1930; 1,847 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Humboldt Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Humboldt Township.

Read it all →

Humboldt, originally an American settlement named after Baron von Humboldt, was founded in 1857. Germans migrating from Hartford, Connecticut, began organizing a colony during the winter of 1856–57. They arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, in March 1857, and at the townsite on May 10, 1857. Orlin Thurston, a young attorney, moved to Humboldt during the summer of 1857 and put up a steam sawmill; he began sawing wood and building houses on the prairie side of town. The first frame building was erected by J.A. Coffey; and in May 1858, W.C. O'Brien opened the first gristmill in the county. The United Brethren Denomination erected the first church in 1859.

Chapters19th centuryCivil War fortifications

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Humboldt Township, 1857 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingHumboldt Township is established
  3. 1865In the archiveHumboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875)
  4. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,558
By decade

Humboldt Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Humboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875)1865–1875Humboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875)
Today3 recent
Neosho River at Bridge Street in Humboldt KS2026Neosho River at Bridge Street in Humboldt KSHumboldt KS watertower2026Humboldt KS watertowerKSMap-doton-Humboldt2004KSMap-doton-Humboldt
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.

Humboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875)
Retake this viewHumboldt, Kansas (circa 1865-1875), 1865–1875

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Cherry Grove SchoolschoolCresent Valley Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Humboldt Township
Evan YoungFussmanMount HopeSaint Joseph

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.

Humboldt2 historic placesB+Logan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalem TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIola TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCottage Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Humboldt Township’s history

What year was Humboldt Township founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. the census of 1870 counted 1,202 people here.

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 (4), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.