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History · Silverdale Township

Silverdale Township’s post office opened in 1871, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Silverdale Township began

When was Silverdale Township founded?

1871

The Silverdale Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Vinton (1888) and Townsend (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 329155 years
Founding year: the first Silverdale Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Silverdale 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 Silverdale Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Silverdale Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Silverdale Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silverdale Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silverdale 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

Silverdale Township on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Silverdale Township on the 1889 USGS mapSilverdale Township on the 1965 USGS mapSilverdale Township on the 1985 USGS map1889Burden 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 Silverdale Township.

Places that used to be

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

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

Silverdale
1871–today
Vinton
1888–1926
Townsend
1892–1918
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CameronSilverdaleVinton
Gone or out of use
Albright Oil FieldoilfieldCoburn SchoolschoolOtter Ridge SchoolschoolShiloh Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Silverdale Township
LibertySilverdale

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

The story

How Silverdale Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silverdale Township.

Read it all →

The post office was established June 5, 1871, and temporarily closed October 19, 1883, before being reopened December 12, 1883. It was permanently closed on July 31, 1964.

In 1912, Silverdale was described as a hamlet with a hotel, general store, bank, and other businesses, and in 1910 the population was 100. Today only a church and limestone quarry remain with perhaps a dozen residences. The quarry specialized in fine cut, quality limestone.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Silverdale Township, 1871 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Silverdale post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Vinton post office opens
  4. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1892Post officeThe Townsend post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1918Post officeThe Townsend post office closes
  8. 1926Post officeThe Vinton post office closes
By decade

Silverdale Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USAMap
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bolton TownshipIts storyCSpring Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCreswell Township1 historic placeC+Pleasant Valley Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLiberty Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Silverdale Township’s history

What year was Silverdale Township founded?

The Silverdale Township post office opened in 1871, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.