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History · Lewis

Lewis’ post office opened in 1886, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

1886first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: The original uploader was Toytoy at Wikipedia. · Public domain
Quick answers

How Lewis began, and where its name came from

When was Lewis founded?

1886

The Lewis post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 400140 years

How did Lewis get its name?

Lewis was named for journalist M.M. Lewis.

Founding year: the first Lewis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lewis’ 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 Lewis are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lewis’ homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lewis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lewis’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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The story

How Lewis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lewis.

Read it all →

Lewis was founded circa 1885. It was named for journalist M.M. Lewis.

The first post office in Lewis was established in November 1886.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lewis, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Edwards Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Edwards Co, Ks, USAMap

Questions about Lewis’ history

What year was Lewis founded?

The Lewis post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.