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History · Shawnee Township

Half of Shawnee Township’s homes were built after 1983

Most of Shawnee Township was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1959 on.

0on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Shawnee 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 Shawnee Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Shawnee Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shawnee Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wirtonia
1867–1875
Crestline
1875–today
Messer
1879–1906
Peacock
1901–1901
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BadgerCrestline
Gone or out of use
Glen SchoolschoolMesserlocaleMesser SchoolschoolPeacocklocaleSpencer Elementary SchoolschoolWirtonia ChurchchurchWirtonia Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Shawnee Township
MesserMoundUnionWirtonia

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

The story so far

Shawnee Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Shawnee Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Shawnee Township is a township in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 545.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 461 to 545 (+18%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Shawnee Township, 1867 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Wirtonia post office opens
  3. 1875Post officeThe Wirtonia post office closes
  4. 1875Post officeThe Crestline post office opens
  5. 1879Post officeThe Messer post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Post officeThe Messer post office closes
  8. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shawnee Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Vintage car in a garage at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021Vintage car in a garage at the Shawnee Town Theme ParkThe farmhouse and visitor center at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021The farmhouse and visitor center at the Shawnee Town …A vintage gas station at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021A vintage gas station at the Shawnee Town Theme ParkCountry doctor's examination room at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021Country doctor's examination room at the Shawnee Town…A barber shop interior at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021A barber shop interior at the Shawnee Town Theme ParkBarnyard scene at the Shawnee Town Theme Park2021Barnyard scene at the Shawnee Town Theme Park
On the map

Shawnee Township on the map, 1959 to 1978

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

Shawnee Township on the 1959 USGS mapShawnee Township on the 1978 USGS map1959Crestline sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Shawnee Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Shawnee Township

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

See all →
Langston HughesAmerican writer and social activist · b. 1901
Robert CummingsAmerican actor · b. 1910
Dennis WeaverAmerican actor · b. 1924
Pauline StarkeAmerican actress · b. 1901
Jamie McMurrayAmerican racing driver · b. 1976
L
Lee ScottAmerican businessman · b. 1949
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lowell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrawford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant View TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Shawnee Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.