Leavenworth dates to 1854, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #8 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
32 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and ten historic districts with 354 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1841.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Leavenworth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leavenworth is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #8 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leavenworth’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 Leavenworth’s 104 sits above most of its state (95% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 386 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1854.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Leavenworth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first city incorporated in the territory of Kansas. The city developed south of Fort Leavenworth, which was established as Cantonment Leavenworth in 1827 by Colonel Henry Leavenworth. Its location on the Missouri River attracted refugee African-American slaves in the antebellum years, who were seeking freedom from the slave state of Missouri across the river. Abolition supporters helped them find refuge. In the years before the Civil War, Leavenworth was a hotbed of anti-slavery and pro-slavery agitation, often leading to open physical confrontations on the street and in public meetings.
in said county with a branch railroad from a point near said bridge on the line of said first mentioned railroad, to a junc¬ tion with the Leavenworth, Atchison & Northwestern Rail¬ road (Missouri Pacific), at or near said city of Leavenworth, and also to construct, own and operate such other branch railroads within said military reservation as may become necessary or useful in connecting other railroads now or here¬ after to be constructed through said military reservation; and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
To make a roadway by a good and substantial bridge and do all necessary work to make a good wagon road over the railroad at the point where the aforesaid railroad shall cross the existing main wagon road from Fort Leavenworth to Leavenworth City, to said bridge and roadway to be of the full width of the present road at the point above mentioned, and the approach to said bridge on either side to be filled so that there shall be a level grade from the bridge to the next
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Leavenworth, 1827 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leavenworth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Leavenworth sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Leavenworth.
Every building
Leavenworth, building by building, 1883–1913
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 year, then a sheet.
In 1854, according to Wikidata. Leavenworth’s post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1860 counted 7,429 people here.
How does Leavenworth rank for history?
Leavenworth is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #8 of 151 in Kansas. 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 Leavenworth?
32 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 19 buildings, 10 historic districts with 354 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 386 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Leavenworth?
28% of Leavenworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (31), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
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