The Kinsley post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Peters (1873), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,456152 years
How historic is Kinsley?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kinsley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kinsley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kinsley is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kinsley’s overall grade.
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 Kinsley’s 7.5 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Kinsley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community was originally called Petersburg, and under the latter name laid out in 1873. It was later renamed Peter's City. The majority of the community's first residents were from New England, especially Massachusetts, and were originally drawn by the New England Homestead and Colonization Bureau, and it was called the "New England colony" or "Massachusetts colony." In 1873, the settlement was renamed Kinsley after the Boston capitalist Edward Wilkinson Kinsley, who agreed to build a church if the community was named after him.
The first post office in Kinsley was established under the name Peters in April 1873. The post office was renamed Kinsley in January 1874.
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.
Kinsley’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Peters, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Peters
1873–1874
Kinsley
1874–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Kinsley’s history
What year was Kinsley founded?
The Kinsley post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kinsley rank for history?
Kinsley is more historic than 69% 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 Kinsley?
One place: the Palace Theater (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Kinsley?
37% of Kinsley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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