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History · Pierceville Township

Pierceville Township’s post office opened in 1873

Most of Pierceville Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1896 on.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pierceville Township began, and where its name came from

When was Pierceville Township founded?

1873

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

2020 census: 459153 years

How did Pierceville Township get its name?

Pierceville Township was named Pierceville in honor of Chas.

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

What stands out about Pierceville 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 Pierceville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Pierceville Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pierceville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pierceville 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

Pierceville Township on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Pierceville Township on the 1896 USGS mapPierceville Township on the 1967 USGS mapPierceville Township on the 1985 USGS map1896Garden City 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 Pierceville Township.

The story

How Pierceville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pierceville Township.

Read it all →

The Western Trail (a cattle trail) played a part in the founding of this town. The Barton Brothers drove a herd of 3,000 cattle over the trail, and the cattle were the first to feed on the government lands in western Kansas. In the fall of 1872, they came to the area and established a ranch along the Arkansas River. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was laying track in southwestern Kansas, and they chose the Barton Ranch as headquarters for the town site. It was named Pierceville in honor of Chas. W. and Carlos Pierce, who were members of the original Atchison & Topeka Railroad company.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pierceville Township, 1873 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Pierceville post office opens
  3. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1989Post officeThe Pierceville post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Pierceville Township

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

See all →
Victor OrtizAmerican boxer · b. 1987
Roy RomerAmerican politician · b. 1928
K
Katherine DunnAmerican novelist, journalist, poet · b. 1945
Chuck Reed64th mayor of San Jose, California · b. 1948
Otto SchnellbacherAmerican football and basketball player · b. 1923
Ray WatsonAmerican middle-distance and steeplechase runner · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
MansfieldPierceville
Gone or out of use
Finney Company Feedyard Incorporated AirportairportGarden City Army Air FieldmilitaryValentine Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Pierceville Township
Pierceville

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.

Garden City TownshipIts storyCIvanhoe TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIngalls Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPiercevilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLockport TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pierceville Township’s history

What year was Pierceville Township founded?

The Pierceville 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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.