Most of Ozawkie Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Ozawkie Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ozawkie Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ozawkie Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ozawkie Township’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 Ozawkie Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Ozawkie Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ozawkie Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1886Oskaloosa 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 Ozawkie Township.
The community was originally named Osawkee and became Jefferson County's original county seat in 1855. The word Ozawkie is derived from the Sauk or Saukee Indians.
In 1930, there were rumors the US Army Corps of Engineers building a dam and relocation would be required. However, it was only in 1954 that the Perry Dam Project was approved. Since Ozawkie was not incorporated, the US Government would not relocate it. Citizens came together to form a non-profit organization to help move Ozawkie. In 1966, Ozawkie was relocated to higher ground west of the original town site and a water tower, school and 26 homes were built.
The Ozawkie Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ozawkie Township rank for history?
Ozawkie Township is more historic than 25% 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.
How old are the homes in Ozawkie Township?
8% of Ozawkie Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
