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History · Norton Township

34% of Norton Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 8 old photos and papers and maps from 1960 on.

0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Norton Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Norton Township’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Norton Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Norton Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Norton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Norton Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 859.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 931 to 859 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Norton Township, decade by decade

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

1910s8 items
North hill side1910North hill sideFair grounds1910Fair groundsEast side1910East sideElm Wood Park1910Elm Wood ParkOn north hill side1910On north hill sideHome stretch, Elm Wood Park1910Home stretch, Elm Wood ParkFor the 2:20, Elm Wood Park1910For the 2:20, Elm Wood ParkCounty High School1911County High School
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
On the map

Norton Township on the map, 1960 to 1979

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

Norton Township on the 1960 USGS mapNorton Township on the 1979 USGS map1960Nortonville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Norton Township.

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.

North hill side
Retake this viewNorth hill side, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Norton Township

Nobody well known was born in Norton Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Amelia EarhartAmerican aviation pioneer and author · b. 1897
M
Mary Peters FieserAmerican chemist · b. 1909
J
Jesse StoneAmerican rhythm and blues musician and songwrit… · b. 1901
Joe TinkerAmerican baseball player, manager · b. 1880
Charles Lester MarlattAmerican entomologist · b. 1863
Chester L. MizeAmerican politician · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Norton Township
Corpus ChristiHartSaint Joseph's

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

Help out

Finish Norton Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNorth hill side: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jefferson TownshipIts storyCDelaware Township1 historic placeA−Center Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMount Pleasant Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBenton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEaston Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Norton Township’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (8), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.