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B+History
History · Lecompton Township

Lecompton Township dates to 1854, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1880.

1854founded
4on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lecompton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lecompton Township began

When was Lecompton Township founded?

1854

Lecompton Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 284 in 18802020 census: 1,669172 years

How historic is Lecompton Township?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lecompton Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lecompton Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lecompton Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.2% of homes (±7.5) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 24.3 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Lecompton Township’s 24.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±7.5 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 Lecompton Township’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1940, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lecompton Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Lecompton Township, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020450 in 1890Low: 250

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1940, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Big Springs
1856–1894
Grover
1886–1899
Bigspring
1894–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Big SpringsGrover
Gone or out of use
Greenwood Valley SchoolschoolWinters SchoolschoolYoung Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lecompton Township
East View - Big SpringsLewis - Crowder - LakeviewMaple Grove - LecomptonSaint Peters

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Lecompton Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2019
William Henry House
William Henry HouseWinter School No. 70
Buildings
All 2 listings
William Henry HouseBuilding · listed 2019Winter School No. 70Building · listed 2020

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

The story

How Lecompton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lecompton Township.

Read it all →

Lecompton was founded in 1854, on a bluff on the south bank of the Kansas River. It was originally called Bald Eagle, and was renamed Lecompton in honor of Samuel Dexter Lecompte, the chief justice of the territorial Supreme Court. In August 1855, the city became the capital of the Kansas Territory after President Franklin Pierce appointed Andrew Horatio Reeder as governor and charged him and his officials with establishing government offices in Lecompton. The city soon became a stronghold of pro-slavery politics and Southern sympathy, which put it in conflict with nearby Lawrence, which had been founded by Free-Staters from Massachusetts.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lecompton Township, 1850 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archiveA bad egg for a southern stomach
  3. 1854
    FoundingLecompton Township is established
  4. 1856Post officeThe Big Springs post office opens
  5. 1865In the archiveNorthern view at
  6. 1886Post officeThe Grover post office opens
  7. 1894Post officeThe Big Springs post office closes
  8. 1894Post officeThe Bigspring post office opens
  9. 1899Post officeThe Grover post office closes
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902In the archiveLane College Merges with Campbell College
  12. 1903Post officeThe Bigspring post office closes
  13. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 21st century
  15. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 625
By decade

Lecompton Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1860s5 items
A bad egg for a southern stomach1850A bad egg for a southern stomachPlanned Lecompton, Kansas state capitol1855Planned Lecompton, Kansas state capitolThe governor's mansion1857The governor's mansionNorthern view at1865Northern view atLecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri River1869Lecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri…
1900s1 item
Lane College Merges with Campbell College1902Lane College Merges with Campbell College
1910s–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
Today10 recent
Supposed Kansas Capitol2012Supposed Kansas CapitolLecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri River. (Boston Public Library)2010Lecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri…Lecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri River. (Boston Public Library) (cropped)2010Lecompton, Kansas, in 1867, 50 miles west of Missouri…A creek2010A creekRadical United Bretheren Church2009Radical United Bretheren ChurchLecompton City Jail2009Lecompton City JailLane University2009Lane UniversityDowntown2009DowntownHumboldt Vitrified2008Humboldt VitrifiedKSMap-doton-Lecompton2004KSMap-doton-Lecompton
On the map

Lecompton Township on the map, 1949 to 1970

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

Lecompton Township on the 1949 USGS mapLecompton Township on the 1950 USGS mapLecompton Township on the 1970 USGS map1949Perry sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lecompton Township.

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.

A bad egg for a southern stomach
Retake this viewA bad egg for a southern stomach, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Lecompton Township’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 viewA bad egg for a southern stomach: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kentucky Township1 historic placeB−Rural Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTecumseh Township2 historic placesB−Kanwaka Township1 historic placeB−Kaw Township1 historic placeB+Wakarusa Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Lecompton Township’s history

What year was Lecompton Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lecompton Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 284 people here.

How does Lecompton Township rank for history?

Lecompton Township is more historic than 68% 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 Lecompton Township?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the William Henry House (listed 2019, the first).

How old are the homes in Lecompton Township?

19% of Lecompton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.