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A−History
History · Meade Center Township

Meade Center Township dates to 1873, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1873founded
1on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Meade Center Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Meade Center Township began

When was Meade Center Township founded?

1873

Meade Center Township dates its founding to 1873 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 296 in 18802020 census: 1,737153 years

How historic is Meade Center Township?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Meade Center Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meade Center Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Meade Center Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194033.7% of homes (±9.9) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 19.6 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
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 Meade Center Township’s 19.6 sits above most of its state (80% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±9.9 points). Two sources give 1873.

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 Meade Center Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18923 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1983. Watch Meade Center Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,858 in 1930; 4,055 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Meade Center Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Meade Center Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Meade Center Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBirds eye view Meade, Kans: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Meade Center Township on the map, 1892 to 1983

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

Meade Center Township on the 1892 USGS mapMeade Center Township on the 1962 USGS mapMeade Center Township on the 1983 USGS map1892Meade 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 Meade Center Township.

People over time

Meade Center Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,858

Peaked at 6,858 in 1930; 4,055 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Meade Center Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Meade Center Township.

Read it all →

In 1873, Meade County was established. The first permanent settlement in the county was established in 1878 at Meade City, 12 miles north of the city of Meade. Pearlette was settled shortly thereafter in 1879 by a company of sixteen families from Zanesville, Ohio led by John Jobling. The railroad first entered the country in 1887, ending a decade in which supplies had to be hauled from Dodge City.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Meade Center Township, 1873 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingMeade Center Township is established
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912In the archiveBirds eye view Meade, Kans
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 6,858
By decade

Meade Center Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Birds eye view Meade, Kans1912Birds eye view Meade, KansPostcardBirds eye view Meade, Kans1912Birds eye view Meade, KansPostcard
1920s–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
Date unknown2 to date
A history of Meade County, KansasDate?A history of Meade County, KansasBookA history of Meade County, KansasDate?A history of Meade County, KansasBook
Today3 recent
KSMap-doton-Plains2004KSMap-doton-PlainsKSMap-doton-Meade2004KSMap-doton-MeadeKSMap-doton-Fowler2004KSMap-doton-Fowler
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.

Birds eye view Meade, Kans
Retake this viewBirds eye view Meade, Kans, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Meade Center Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Meade Center Township
GracelandLockhartSeward

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mertilla TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Plains TownshipIts storyC+Crooked Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Meade Center Township’s history

What year was Meade Center Township founded?

In 1873, according to Wikidata. Meade Center Township’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1880 counted 296 people here.

How does Meade Center Township rank for history?

Meade Center Township is more historic than 77% 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.

How old are the homes in Meade Center Township?

34% of Meade Center Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.