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Pawnee Rock 2013-09-26 14-17-58Photo: mamcginnis · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Pawnee Rock Township

Pawnee Rock Township’s post office opened in 1872, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Pawnee Rock. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
1on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pawnee Rock Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pawnee Rock Township began, and where its name came from

When was Pawnee Rock Township founded?

1872

The Pawnee Rock Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 84 in 18802020 census: 313154 years

How did Pawnee Rock Township get its name?

Pawnee Rock Township was named from the historic landmark Pawnee Rock nearby.

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

What stands out about Pawnee Rock 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1985. Watch Pawnee Rock Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 458 in 1910; 193 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Pawnee Rock Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pawnee Rock Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pawnee Rock Township’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

Pawnee Rock Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Pawnee Rock Township on the 1891 USGS mapPawnee Rock Township on the 1960 USGS mapPawnee Rock Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Great Bend 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 Pawnee Rock Township.

People over time

Pawnee Rock Township, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 458

Peaked at 458 in 1910; 193 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Pawnee Rock Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pawnee Rock Township.

Read it all →

Pawnee Rock was founded in 1874. It was named from the historic landmark Pawnee Rock nearby. William Bunting became Pawnee Rock's first mayor when the town was incorporated in 1887.

One-half mile north of U.S. 56 and the town of Pawnee Rock is Pawnee Rock State Historic Site, a monument to travelers on the Santa Fe Trail that marks the trail's approximate halfway point. The monument consists of a rough stone pole building used for picnics and a granite pillar-shaped monument atop a small hill.

ChaptersPawnee Rock State Historic Site

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pawnee Rock Township, 1850 to 1910

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. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 458
By decade

Pawnee Rock Township, 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…
Today5 recent
Daughters of the revolution monument at Pawnee Rock2024Daughters of the revolution monument at Pawnee RockTown of Pawnee Rock, Kansas, seen from summit of Pawnee Rock2023Town of Pawnee Rock, Kansas, seen from summit of Pawn…Former ATSF depot, Pawnee Rock, Kansas2023Former ATSF depot, Pawnee Rock, KansasMap of Pawnee Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Pawnee Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Pawnee Rock2004KSMap-doton-Pawnee Rock
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 Pawnee Rock Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pawnee Rock 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
first listed
1970
Pawnee Rock
Pawnee Rock
Sites
Pawnee RockSite

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pawnee Rock Township

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

See all →
Jerry MoranUnited States Senator from Kansas · b. 1954
Karrin AllysonAmerican jazz vocalist · b. 1963
Roy StrykerAmerican photographer · b. 1893
Scott SchwabSecretary of State of Kansas · b. 1972
Ty CobbAmerican lawyer · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Bergtal Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pawnee Rock Township
Bergthal MennonitePawnee RockRockville

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.

Liberty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRiver TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClarence TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalnut TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pawnee Rock Township’s history

What year was Pawnee Rock Township founded?

The Pawnee Rock Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pawnee Rock Township?

One place: the Pawnee Rock (listed 1970).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.