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History · Kiowa

Kiowa’s post office opened in 1874, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1943 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kiowa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kiowa began, and where its name came from

When was Kiowa founded?

1874

The Kiowa post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, New Kiowa (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 902152 years

How did Kiowa get its name?

Kiowa was named for the Kiowa people.

Founding year: the first Kiowa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kiowa’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Kiowa’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · The story

How Kiowa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kiowa.

Read it all →

Kiowa was founded in 1872. It was named for the Kiowa people.

On June 7, 1900, anti-saloon advocate Carrie Nation vandalized her first saloon in Kiowa. In 1910, Kiowa became a sundown town, having a sign at each of four roads into the city that read, "Niggers Read and Run", and Black residents were given 24 hours to leave town.

In 1905, the Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad was built from Enid, Oklahoma, to Kiowa. In 1907, it was sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. In 1996, the line from Kiowa to Blanton, Oklahoma, was abandoned.

Chapters19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kiowa, 1874 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Kiowa post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe New Kiowa post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe New Kiowa post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1932Born hereBill Tidwell is born here
  7. 1943In the archiveKiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad be…
  8. 1978Born hereMike Jackson is born here
By decade

Kiowa, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Kansas and W…1943Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchi…Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Kansas and W…1943Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchi…Kiowa, Kansas. Train waiting for a block signal along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Ka…1943Kiowa, Kansas. Train waiting for a block signal along…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. F…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. F…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Kiowa, Kansas. F…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Kiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Kansas and W…
Retake this viewKiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling out on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Kansas and W…, 1943

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kiowa’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Kiowa

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

See all →
Mike JacksonAmerican politician from Oklahoma · b. 1978
Bill TidwellAmerican university sports administrator · b. 1932
James WilsonPolitician in Colorado, United States
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Kiowa’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, New Kiowa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kiowa
1874–today
New Kiowa
1884–1887
18701950today

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

Help out

Finish Kiowa’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKiowa, Kansas. Freight train pulling ou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Kiowa’s history

What year was Kiowa founded?

The Kiowa post office opened in 1874, 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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.