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History · Latimer

Latimer’s post office opened in 1887, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Herington Army Airfield Chapel. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1930.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
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Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Latimer began

When was Latimer founded?

1887

The Latimer post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Far West (1864), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 124 in 19302020 census: 31139 years
Founding year: the first Latimer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Latimer’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 Latimer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Latimer change.Old housesHalf of Latimer’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Latimer’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Latimer on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Latimer on the 1889 USGS mapLatimer on the 1894 USGS mapLatimer on the 1972 USGS mapLatimer on the 1985 USGS map1889Parkerville 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 Latimer.

The story

How Latimer came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Latimer.

Read it all →

The community was originally called Far West, and was founded in about 1883. It was renamed Latimer in 1888. Latimer was the name of one of the town's founders.

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka through Latimer to Herington. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was foreclosed in 1891 and taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merged in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad, and merged in 1997 with Union Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Latimer, 1864 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Far West post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Far West post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Latimer post office opens
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1961Post officeThe Latimer post office closes
By decade

Latimer, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Latimer2004KSMap-doton-Latimer
On the National Register

1 historic place in Latimer

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2024
Herington Army Airfield Chapel
Herington Army Airfield Chapel
Buildings
All 1 listings
Herington Army Airfield ChapelBuilding · listed 2024

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

People over time

Latimer, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 124

Between 20 and 124 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Latimer

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

See all →
D
Duane GishAmerican biochemist an creationist · b. 1921
Don IhdeAmerican philosopher · b. 1934
Glen Edgar EdgertonGovernor of the Panama Canal Zone, 1940 to 1944 · b. 1887
Lloyd MetzlerAmerican economist · b. 1913
E
Edgar Newton EisenhowerAmerican lawyer · b. 1889
Jack MorrisAmerican football player · b. 1931
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Latimer had its own post office from 1887 to 1961. Another post office, Far West, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Far West
1864–1887
Latimer
1887–1961
18601940today

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

Questions about Latimer’s history

What year was Latimer founded?

The Latimer post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Latimer?

One place: the Herington Army Airfield Chapel (listed 2024).

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.