Founding year: the first Neodesha post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Neodesha’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Neodesha is more historic than 75% 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 Neodesha’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 Neodesha’s 12.0 sits above most of its state (67% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings 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 (±7.5 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 Neodesha’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers in the area that would eventually become Neodesha established a trading post in October 1867 to the northwest of the present town. They were allowed by the Osage Native Americans to establish a trading post on the Osage Diminished Reserve because the nearest trading post was over thirty miles away. After the Drum Creek Treaty had been signed by the Osage tribe in September 1870 and the tribe moved to Indian Territory, it opened the way for settlers to move to the area. Neodesha was incorporated March 2, 1871 and the original plat was filed with the U.S. Land Office in July 1871. Neodesha is an Osage name meaning "meeting of the waters".
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Neodesha’s history
What year was Neodesha founded?
The Neodesha post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Neodesha rank for history?
Neodesha is more historic than 75% 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 Neodesha?
Three places: the US Post Office-Neodesha (listed 1989), the Brown Hotel (1995) and the Dorothy DeLay House (2023).
How old are the homes in Neodesha?
37% of Neodesha’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
2017
