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History · Oketo Township

Oketo Township’s post office opened in 1873, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1890.

1873first post office
1on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
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Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Oketo Township began, and where its name came from

When was Oketo Township founded?

1873

The Oketo Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Marietta (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 334 in 18902020 census: 221153 years

How did Oketo Township get its name?

Oketo Township was named for a chief of the Otoe tribe.

Founding year: the first Oketo Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Oketo 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 writtenNo old photos of Oketo Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Oketo Township change.Old housesHalf of Oketo Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oketo Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Oketo Township on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Oketo Township on the 1889 USGS mapOketo Township on the 1894 USGS mapOketo Township on the 1966 USGS mapOketo Township on the 1983 USGS map1889Marysville 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 Oketo Township.

The story

How Oketo Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oketo Township.

Read it all →

Oketo was incorporated as a city, as defined by Kansas law, in 1870. It was named for a chief of the Otoe tribe.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oketo Township, 1889 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1890Post officeThe Marietta post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959Post officeThe Marietta post office closes
By decade

Oketo Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Oketo2004KSMap-doton-Oketo
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oketo Township

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

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

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

People over time

Oketo Township, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 347

Between 64 and 347 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Marietta, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lone ElmMarietta
1cemetery inside Oketo Township
Oketo

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Balderson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarysville Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHerkimer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oketo Township’s history

What year was Oketo Township founded?

The Oketo Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.