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History · Ivy Township

Ivy Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1885 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ivy Township began

When was Ivy Township founded?

1871

The Ivy Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ivy (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 270155 years
Founding year: the first Ivy Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ivy 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 Ivy Township 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 Ivy Township change.Old housesHalf of Ivy Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ivy Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Ivy Township on the map, 1885 to 1985

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

Ivy Township on the 1885 USGS mapIvy Township on the 1894 USGS mapIvy Township on the 1971 USGS mapIvy Township on the 1985 USGS map1885Eskridge 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 Ivy Township.

The story so far

Ivy Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ivy Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ivy Township is a township in Lyon County, Kansas, United States.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 261 to 270 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ivy Township, 1871 to 1896

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Ivy post office opens
  3. 1885On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1896Post officeThe Ivy post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Ivy Township

Nobody well known was born in Ivy Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
R. Lee ErmeyAmerican actor and soldier · b. 1944
Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr.American pharmacologist · b. 1915
A
Arthur SamuelAmerican computer scientist · b. 1901
Dean SmithAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
Maud WagnerAmerican circus performer and tattoo artist · b. 1877
William Allen WhiteAmerican newspaper editor and Progressive leader · b. 1868
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Ivylocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ivy Township
AdmireIvy

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.

Waterloo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAgnes City TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townReading TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFremont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ivy Township’s history

What year was Ivy Township founded?

The Ivy Township post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.