The story
Read it all →How Jefferson Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township was established in 1878. It was named for Thomas Jefferson.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
Where Jefferson Township’s name came from
How did Jefferson Township get its name?
Jefferson Township was named for Thomas Jefferson.
How historic is Jefferson Township?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jefferson Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson Township is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraThere’s no founding date for Jefferson Township we can vouch for, so age doesn’t count here–Homes built before 19409.0% of homes (±5.4) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 8 historic buildings, 32.6 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
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 Jefferson Township’s 32.6 sits above most of its state (87% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Jefferson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Jefferson Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jefferson Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Jefferson Township, 1856 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1856Post officeThe Riley City post office opens
- 1862Post officeThe Riley City post office closes
- 20th century
- 1925
BuiltConroe Bridge is built
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.
Add from your albumOn the National Register
2 listings protect 8 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Conroe Bridge
DistrictsSites
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Jefferson Township
Nobody well known was born in Jefferson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
C
Cassandra PetersonAmerican actress · b. 1951
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Riley City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Berry SchoolschoolEnterprise SchoolschoolMontgomerylocaleRiley Citylocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jefferson Township
Davis CreekFairview
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.
Junction City8 historic placesB+Smoky Hill Township2 historic placesA−Madison TownshipIts storyC−Lyon Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWingfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlakely TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Jefferson Township’s history
How does Jefferson Township rank for history?
Jefferson Township is more historic than 71% 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.
What is on the National Register in Jefferson Township?
Two places: the Conroe Bridge (listed 1983) and the Leithoff-Powers Ranch Historic District (1995).
How old are the homes in Jefferson Township?
9% of Jefferson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1999.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.