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History · Randolph

Randolph’s post office opened in 1856, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Randolph began

When was Randolph founded?

1856

The Randolph post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 262 in 18802020 census: 159170 years
Founding year: the first Randolph post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Randolph’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18865 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Randolph change.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Randolph’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Randolph’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Randolph on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Randolph on the 1886 USGS mapRandolph on the 1894 USGS mapRandolph on the 1964 USGS mapRandolph on the 1983 USGS mapRandolph on the 1990 USGS map1886Junction 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 Randolph.

People over time

Randolph, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020455 in 1910Low: 35

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Randolph came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Randolph.

Read it all →

Randolph was originally called Waterville, and under the latter name was laid out in 1856. It was renamed Randolph in honor Gardner Randolph, a pioneer settler.

Randolph was originally located a mile east of its present location. When the Tuttle Creek reservoir began filling up in 1962, it affected ten towns and entirely submerged four of them (from north to south): Cleburne at 39°31′49″N 96°38′6″W, Randolph, Garrison Cross and Stockdale. The only town to rebuild elsewhere was Randolph, where the streets are named after the submerged towns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Randolph, 1856 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Randolph post office opens
  3. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909In the archiveStandard atlas of Riley County, Kansas - including a plat book of the villages, cities an…
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 455
  7. 1960Post officeThe Randolph post office closes
By decade

Randolph, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Standard atlas of Riley County, Kansas - including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, map…1909Standard atlas of Riley County, Kansas - including a …Map
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Settlement of the Blue valley in the vicinity of Randolph /Date?Settlement of the Blue valley in the vicinity of Rand…BookTuttle Creek Lake: Wheeling guide: ORV area, off-road vehicle area, Randolph, KS – 2018-11Date?Tuttle Creek Lake: Wheeling guide: ORV area, off-road…Book
Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Randolph2005KSMap-doton-Randolph
Every building

Randolph, building by building, 1901–1911

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.

Randolph fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 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.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Randolph had its own post office from 1856 to 1960.

Randolph
1856–1960
18501940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Randolph’s history

What year was Randolph founded?

The Randolph post office opened in 1856, 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 →
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.