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History · Olmitz

Olmitz’s post office opened in 1881, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1930.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Olmitz’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Olmitz began, and where its name came from

When was Olmitz founded?

1881

The Olmitz post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 166 in 19302020 census: 90145 years

How did Olmitz get its name?

Olmitz was named after the city of Olomouc (German: Olmütz), in Austria-Hungary (today in the Czech Republic).

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

What stands out about Olmitz’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Olmitz change.Old housesHalf of Olmitz’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Olmitz’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Olmitz on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Olmitz on the 1896 USGS mapOlmitz on the 1969 USGS mapOlmitz on the 1985 USGS map1896Russell 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 Olmitz.

The story

How Olmitz came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Olmitz.

Read it all →

Olmitz was laid out in 1885. It was named after the city of Olomouc (German: Olmütz), in Austria-Hungary (today in the Czech Republic). Olmitz was originally built up chiefly by Austrians.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Olmitz, 1850 to 1896

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Kansas - Barton County - ED 5-28, ED 5-29…
  3. 1881Post officeThe Olmitz post office opens
  4. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Olmitz, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Kansas - Barton County - ED 5-28, ED 5-29, ED 5-30, ED 5-31, ED 5-32, E…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Kansa…
Today2 recent
Map of Rush Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Rush Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Olmitz2004KSMap-doton-Olmitz
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Kansas - Barton County - ED 5-28, ED 5-29, ED 5-30, ED 5-31, ED 5-32, E…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Kansas - Barton County - ED 5-28, ED 5-29, ED 5-30, ED 5-31, ED 5-32, E…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Olmitz, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 166

Between 90 and 166 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Olmitz’s history

What year was Olmitz founded?

The Olmitz post office opened in 1881, 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 →
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.