1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Carry A. Nation House, a National Historic Landmark. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Carry A. Nation House, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Medicine Lodge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Medicine Lodge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medicine Lodge is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medicine Lodge’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 Medicine Lodge’s 6.3 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 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 Medicine Lodge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Medicine Lodge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Medicine Lodge 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 Medicine Lodge.
People over time
Medicine Lodge, census by census
Peaked at 3,072 in 1960; 1,781 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Medicine Lodge’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Medicine Lodge, building by building, 1893–1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The particular medicine lodge, mystery house or sacred tabernacle from which the Medicine Lodge River received its name was in reality an arbor-like shelter of tree trunks and leafy branches which was erected by the Kiowa people for the celebration of their annual sun dance in the summer of 1866. It was in the valley of the Medicine Lodge River, several miles below the present town of Medicine Lodge, which is at the mouth of Elm Creek. In their own language, the Kiowa people called this stream A-ya-dalda P'a, meaning "Timber-hill River." The Kiowa had considered the site sacred due to the high content of Epsom salts in the river.
The Medicine Lodge post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Medicine Lodge rank for history?
Medicine Lodge is more historic than 63% 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 Medicine Lodge?
One place: the Carry A. Nation House (listed 1971).
How old are the homes in Medicine Lodge?
29% of Medicine Lodge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1953.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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