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History · Smolan

Smolan’s post office opened in 1887, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1970.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Smolan began

When was Smolan founded?

1887

The Smolan post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 175 in 19702020 census: 162139 years
Founding year: the first Smolan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Smolan’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 Smolan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1990. Watch Smolan change.Old housesHalf of Smolan’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 218 in 2000; 162 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Smolan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Smolan’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

Smolan on the map, 1892 to 1990

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

Smolan on the 1892 USGS mapSmolan on the 1942 USGS mapSmolan on the 1955 USGS mapSmolan on the 1978 USGS mapSmolan on the 1985 USGS mapSmolan on the 1990 USGS map1892Salina 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 Smolan.

The story

How Smolan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Smolan.

Read it all →

Smolan was named after the Swedish province of Småland, the native home of a large share of the early settlers.

A post office was opened in Smolan in 1887, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1997.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Smolan, 1887 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Smolan post office opens
  3. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 21st century
  5. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 218
By decade

Smolan, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Smolan2005KSMap-doton-Smolan
People over time

Smolan, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 218

Peaked at 218 in 2000; 162 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Questions about Smolan’s history

What year was Smolan founded?

The Smolan post office opened in 1887, 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 (2), 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.