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History · Jewell

Jewell’s post office opened in 1870, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Jewell began

When was Jewell founded?

1870

The Jewell post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 372 in 18802020 census: 370156 years
Founding year: the first Jewell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jewell’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 Jewell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Jewell change.Boom and bustPeaked at 839 in 1910; 370 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Jewell’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jewell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Jewell on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Jewell on the 1894 USGS mapJewell on the 1969 USGS mapJewell on the 1985 USGS map1894Mankato 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 Jewell.

People over time

Jewell, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 839

Peaked at 839 in 1910; 370 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Jewell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jewell.

Read it all →

The City of Jewell began in 1870 as a large sod enclosure called Fort Jewell. Named in honor of Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis R. Jewell, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, who died November 30, 1862, of wounds received in the battle of Cane Hill, Ark. November 28, 1862.

The first post office in Jewell was established in July 1870.

A new community center was built in 1999 across from the city park; it features a public library, American Legion offices and a four-room hotel.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jewell, 1870 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Jewell post office opens
  3. 1874Born hereMulford Winsor is born here
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 839
  7. 1943Born hereRich Pahls is born here
By decade

Jewell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Jewell2004KSMap-doton-Jewell
Every building

Jewell, building by building, 1905–1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Jewell fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Jewell

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Rich PahlsAmerican politician · b. 1943
Mulford WinsorAmerican newspaperman and politician · b. 1874
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Jewell’s post office has been open since 1870.

Gone or out of use
Fort Jewellmilitary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Jewell’s history

What year was Jewell founded?

The Jewell post office opened in 1870, 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 →
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 (1), 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.