Ottawa’s post office opened in 1864, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #17 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 124 buildings between them. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
The Ottawa post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1865. Another post office, Ottawa Creek (1856), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,941 in 18702020 census: 12,625162 years
How historic is Ottawa?
A−
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ottawa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ottawa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ottawa is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #17 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ottawa’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 Ottawa’s 104 sits above most of its state (95% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 132 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1865 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Ottawa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Ottawa, building by building, 1884–1912
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 name derives from the Ottawa tribe of Native Americans, on whose reservation the city was laid out. In the spring of 1864, title to the land was obtained from the tribe through treaty connected to the founding of Ottawa University, the Ottawa having donated 20,000 acres of land to establish and fund a school for the education of Indians and non-Indians alike. The word Ottawa itself means "to trade". In 1867, the Ottawa tribe sold their remaining land in Kansas and moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
On the last day of March 1864, J.C. Richmond built the first non-Indian settlement in the new town, at the corner of Walnut and First streets.
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.
The Ottawa post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1865.
How does Ottawa rank for history?
Ottawa is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #17 of 151 in Kansas. 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 Ottawa?
10 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Dietrich Cabin (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Historic Ottawa Central Business District and the Downtown Ottawa Historic District, with 124 contributing buildings. 132 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ottawa?
24% of Ottawa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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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