The story
Read it all →How Kismet came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Kismet.
The first post office in Kismet was established in November 1888.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Kismet
Kismet’s post office opened in 1888, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1940.
1888first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Kismet began
When was Kismet founded?
1888
The Kismet post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 227 in 19402020 census: 340138 years
Founding year: the first Kismet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Kismet’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 Kismet’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kismet’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Kismet, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1940 and 1960, then more than doubled.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kismet’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Kismet, 1888 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1888Post officeThe Kismet post office opens
- 20th century
- 1971
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 484
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 map
Kismet on the map, 1971 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kismet. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Kismet sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kismet.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Kismet
Nobody well known was born in Kismet itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Kismet’s post office has been open since 1888.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dirk's Mobile Home Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Kismet’s history
What year was Kismet founded?
The Kismet post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.