How Pleasanton began, and where its name came from
When was Pleasanton founded?
1869
The Pleasanton post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hillsborough (1857) and Potosi (1859), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 709 in 18802020 census: 1,208157 years
How did Pleasanton get its name?
Pleasanton was named in honor of General Alfred Pleasonton, though the city name is spelled differently.
How historic is Pleasanton?
C+
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pleasanton is more historic than 43% 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 Pleasanton’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 Pleasanton’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.5 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 Pleasanton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pleasanton’s post office has been open since 1869. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hillsborough
1857–1859
Potosi
1859–1869
Pleasanton
1869–today
18501940today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Pleasanton, building by building, 1892–1913
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1864, General Alfred Pleasonton defeated the Confederates in the Battle of Mine Creek near present-day Pleasanton. This battle, involving 25,000 men, resulted in a Union victory which ended the threat of Confederate invasion in Kansas.
Pleasanton had its start in the year 1869 by the building of the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad through that territory. It was named in honor of General Alfred Pleasonton, though the city name is spelled differently.
The first post office in Pleasanton was established in August 1869.
Pleasanton's first church, namely the Fairmount Church, was constructed in 1884. On April 27, 2014 the church was destroyed by an EF2 tornado which also severely damaged the town's cemetery.
The story of the origin of the town of Pleasanton is a romance of the business history of the county. There were many rumors then of new railroads to be built. Already the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf was coming south and in 1869 was running trains through to La Cygne. Something seemed to puzzle the engineers and there was much uncertainty as to where the tracks would go. Trading Post confidently expected they would not only be a station on this
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Alfred Latham of Pleasanton was one of the notably successful men who started as a clerk in a store at Mound City in 1870, then drove all over the country with a peddler’s wagon drawn by a span of mules selling tinware and other household necessities taking farm produce in payment, afterwards establishing a produce house in Mound City which outgrew the town and he moved to Pleasanton to get better shipping facilities, organizing his business under the name of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Pleasanton, 1857 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Pleasanton post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pleasanton rank for history?
Pleasanton is more historic than 43% 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 Pleasanton?
25% of Pleasanton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (3), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2014
2004
