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History · Scandia Township

Scandia Township dates to 1868, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1880.

1868founded
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Scandia Township began

When was Scandia Township founded?

1868

Scandia Township dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 573 in 18802020 census: 426158 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓

What stands out about Scandia 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 Scandia Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18923 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1985. Watch Scandia Township change.Old housesHalf of Scandia Township’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Scandia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Scandia 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

Scandia Township on the map, 1892 to 1985

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

Scandia Township on the 1892 USGS mapScandia Township on the 1966 USGS mapScandia Township on the 1985 USGS map1892Concordia 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 Scandia Township.

The story

How Scandia Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Scandia Township.

Read it all →

The first American flag to be flown in what is now Kansas was raised in 1806 near the area of Scandia. The area was not settled until much later by Swedish immigrants and was first called New Scandinavia. The settlement of Scandia was promoted by crop failures during the 1860s in Sweden. In 1868, the Scandinavian Agricultural Society of Chicago purchased 12 sections of land along the Republican River and formed a colony. The name was changed to Scandia in 1876, according to post office records. Scandia was incorporated as a city in 1879. From there it became a transition point for trade and travel in the early 1900s. It is now a small rural community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Scandia Township, 1868 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingScandia Township is established
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1893Post officeThe Rydal post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1953Post officeThe Rydal post office closes
By decade

Scandia Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Legion park 13132022Legion park 1313Legion park 13062022Legion park 1306FUMC 13162022FUMC 1316Country Pawnees 3072022Country Pawnees 307Country Pawnees 13092022Country Pawnees 1309Country Pawnees 13082022Country Pawnees 1308
People over time

Scandia Township, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 653

Between 344 and 653 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Rydal
Gone or out of use
Scandia-Belleville Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Scandia Township
LutheranPoplar Grove

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.

Courtland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorway TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBelleville Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Scandia Township’s history

What year was Scandia Township founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Scandia Township’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1880 counted 573 people here.

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.