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History · Kanopolis

Kanopolis dates to 1867, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Fort Harker Guardhouse and the Fort Harker Officers' Quarters. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.

1867founded
2on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Kanopolis began

When was Kanopolis founded?

1867

Kanopolis dates its founding to 1867 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 272 in 18902020 census: 443159 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kanopolis’ 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 Kanopolis are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Kanopolis change.Boom and bustPeaked at 868 in 1940; 443 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kanopolis.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kanopolis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kanopolis’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

Kanopolis on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Kanopolis on the 1894 USGS mapKanopolis on the 1957 USGS mapKanopolis on the 1979 USGS mapKanopolis on the 1985 USGS map1894Ellsworth 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 Kanopolis.

People over time

Kanopolis, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 868

Peaked at 868 in 1940; 443 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Kanopolis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kanopolis.

Read it all →

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th to 18th centuries, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized under the provisions of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Ellsworth County was established, which included the land for Kanopolis.

ChaptersEarly historyPre-KanopolisKanopolis beginsOptimism and boosterismShy of expectations

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kanopolis, 1866 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Fort Ellsworth post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Fort Ellsworth post office closes
  4. 1866Post officeThe Fort Harker post office opens
  5. 1867
    FoundingKanopolis is established
  6. 1867BuiltFort Harker Guardhouse is built
  7. 1886Post officeThe Fort Harker post office closes
  8. 1886Post officeThe Kanopolis post office opens
  9. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 868
By decade

Kanopolis, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Kanopolis2004KSMap-doton-Kanopolis
Every building

Kanopolis, building by building, 1920

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 sheet.

Kanopolis fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Kanopolis

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Fort Harker Guardhouse
Fort Harker Guardhouse, built 1867Fort Harker Officers' Quarters
Buildings
Fort Harker GuardhouseBuilt 1867
Fort Harker Officers' QuartersBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Kanopolis

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

See all →
F
Fay ThomasAmerican baseball player · b. 1903
John S. Gibson, Jr.American mayor · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Kanopolis’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Ellsworth
1866–1866
Fort Harker
1866–1886
Kanopolis
1886–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Fort Harkermilitary

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.

Clear Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllsworth Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kanopolis’ history

What year was Kanopolis founded?

In 1867, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kanopolis’ post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1890 counted 272 people here.

What is on the National Register in Kanopolis?

Two places: the Fort Harker Guardhouse (listed 1972) and the Fort Harker Officers' Quarters (1974).

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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.