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History · Iola Township

Iola Township dates to 1859, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1859founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Iola Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Iola Township began

When was Iola Township founded?

1859

Iola Township dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,096 in 18802020 census: 756167 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Iola 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 3 old photos are 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 Iola Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,032 in 1910; 5,396 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Iola Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LC: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Iola Township on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Iola Township on the 1886 USGS mapIola Township on the 1893 USGS mapIola Township on the 1904 USGS mapIola Township on the 1966 USGS mapIola Township on the 1984 USGS mapIola 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 Iola Township.

People over time

Iola Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,032

Peaked at 9,032 in 1910; 5,396 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Iola Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Iola Township.

Read it all →

The history of Iola began in 1859. After the location of the county seat at Humboldt, by the legislature of 1858, there was a great deal of dissatisfaction among the residents of the central and northern parts of the county, and a number of citizens selected the present site of Iola, with the intention of ultimately securing the county seat. On January 1, 1859, a large meeting was held at the Deer Creek schoolhouse. The meeting decided to organize a town company, which was immediately done. A constitution was then adopted, and officers were elected. The officers of the company after due consideration of different points selected a site for the proposed town, about two miles (3 km) north of Cofachique, at the confluence of Elm Creek and the Neosho River. The site was owned in part by J.F. Colborn and W.H. Cochrane. The claims on two quarter-sections were bought, and were soon after surve…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Iola Township, 1859 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingIola Township is established
  3. 1876In the archive1876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LC
  4. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909In the archiveIola, Kans
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 9,032
By decade

Iola Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s3 items
1876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LC18761876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LCIola, Kans1909Iola, KansIola, Kans1909Iola, Kans
1910s–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
Today3 recent
Downtown2017DowntownWea01357 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2010Wea01357 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryGenFunstonMedal2008GenFunstonMedal
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.

1876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LC
Retake this view1876 Iola Register Kansas February 05 LC, 1876

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Enterprise SchoolschoolEukewaylocalePleasant Valley SchoolschoolPrairie Dell SchoolschoolStar Valley SchoolschoolUnion Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Iola Township
Iola Township

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.

Iola4 historic placesA−BassettIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNeosho Falls TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGeneva TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHumboldt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Iola Township’s history

What year was Iola Township founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 1,096 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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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.