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History · Lehigh

Lehigh’s post office opened in 1880, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1910.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Steve Meirowsky (Wikipedia) (Flickr) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Lehigh began

When was Lehigh founded?

1880

The Lehigh post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881.

First census: 385 in 19102020 census: 161146 years
Founding year: the first Lehigh post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lehigh’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 Lehigh 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 Lehigh change.Boom and bustPeaked at 570 in 1920; 161 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lehigh’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lehigh’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

Lehigh on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Lehigh on the 1889 USGS mapLehigh on the 1894 USGS mapLehigh on the 1971 USGS mapLehigh on the 1985 USGS map1889Newton 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 Lehigh.

People over time

Lehigh, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 570

Peaked at 570 in 1920; 161 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Lehigh came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lehigh.

Read it all →

The source of the Lehigh name was not well documented. One of the rumors is the city being slightly higher altitude which was "lay high" above the prairie, the other rumor that it was named by representatives of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania who came to Kansas and considered settling the area in the 1870s or 1880s.

Four and one-half miles north of Lehigh is the junction of the old Santa Fe Trail and Chisolm Trail, which is near the site of the municipal water well for the city. The Santa Fe Trail was active across Marion County from 1821 to 1866, and the Chisholm Trail was active from 1867 to 1871.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lehigh, 1880 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Lehigh post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 570
By decade

Lehigh, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Marion County2013Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Marion Co…MapUS Post Office in2010US Post Office inSkyline of2010Skyline ofOld Grain Elevator in2010Old Grain Elevator inLehigh Mennonite Cemetery near2010Lehigh Mennonite Cemetery nearGreeting Sign in2010Greeting Sign inCooperative Grain and Supply in2010Cooperative Grain and Supply inDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapMap of Marion Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Marion Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Lehigh2004KSMap-doton-Lehigh
Famous people

Famous people close to Lehigh

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

See all →
Shirley KnightAmerican actress · b. 1936
Emil KapaunKorean War US Army chaplain, POW, Medal of Hono… · b. 1916
F
Fay MoultonAthletics and American football competitor · b. 1876
Randolph CarpenterAmerican politician · b. 1894
Homer HochAmerican politician · b. 1879
W
Wendell JohnsonAmerican psychologist · b. 1906

Questions about Lehigh’s history

What year was Lehigh founded?

The Lehigh post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.

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 (10), 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.