1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1910 on and old-book passages.
The Meade post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Skidmore (1884) and Meade Center (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,505137 years
How did Meade get its name?
Meade was named for Gen. George Meade.
How historic is Meade?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meade is more historic than 78% 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’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 Meade’s 22.4 sits above most of its state (83% 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 (±11.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Meade was both laid out and incorporated in 1885. It was named for Gen. George Meade.
In August 2006, the town received national media attention due to the reaction after a rainbow flag was flown above The Lakeway Hotel. The hotel was vandalized repeatedly; bricks with slurs written on them were thrown through the hotel's window and the rainbow flag was cut down (and later replaced) by the hotel owner. Members of the hate group Westboro Baptist Church protested the flag being flown alongside the support of locals in the town.
Passages that mention Meade, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Meade County, Kansas1916 · page 146Read the page →
Read the text
At one time he owned one-third of 1 he Fowler 1o\\n-ite. He Was Vice-Presiden1 of the firsl hank in Meade County, of the firsl bank in Fowler, and is now Vice-President of the Meade State Bank. He holds the first tax receipl issued in Meade County ; he drove the firsl railroad spike in Meade County; he discovered artesian water in Meade County; and he wore out the firsl pair of hootmade iii Meade < lounty, -aid hootbeing made by a certain bootmaker, Schwartz, of Fowler.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Meade County, Kansas1916 · page 86Read the page →
Read the text
The Stalder hiidge. on Road No. 70, across ('looked ('reck, in Meade ('enter Township, cost $600; the Hughbanks bridge, on Road No. 32, Meade Center Township, cost $2,355.80. This creek was spanned by a bridge which stood up for a year or two, but the high waters of L9 15 undermined the foundation, wrecking the bridge, and making the construction of a larger and bettei one itnperat ive.
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
Meade, 1884 to 1993
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.
The Meade post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Meade rank for history?
Meade is more historic than 78% 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 Meade?
One place: the Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in Meade?
34% of Meade’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.4 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
1912
1912
1993
1993