More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #127 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Most of Soldier Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1952 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Soldier Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Soldier Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #127 of 151 in Kansas. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Soldier Township’s overall grade.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Soldier Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1887.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Soldier Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Soldier Township was established on April 20, 1860 from part of Topeka Township. The Great Flood of 1844 covered the area 20 feet (6.1 m) deep. The first settlers in what would become Soldier Township were Fred Swice and George L. Young, who settled there in 1850. The now extinct town of Indianola was founded in November of 1854, but went extinct due to being eclipsed by Topeka. On March 16, 1868, Silver Lake Township was organized from part of Soldier Township. The northern part of Soldier Township was a part of Calhoun County until that was disestablished in 1859. It then became part of Jackson County until 1860.
In World War II, a local factory supplied the military, and then Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company bought it.
Passages that mention Soldier Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Shawnee County, Kansas1905 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text
Soldier Township — This township was erected April 20, i860, from territory added to Shawnee County on the north side of the river. One purpose of the addition was to preserve Topeka as the county-seat by making it a more central point in the county. The new territory was taken from Calhoun (now Jackson) County. Most of it was Kaw Indian land and was occupied only by the Indians and half-breeds down to 1848, except that there was a small band of French settlers in the locality as early as 1840. Among these were the Papan brothers, Joseph, Ahcan and Louis. Louis Catalon, a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Soldier Township, 1855 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Soldier Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Elmont 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 Soldier Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Soldier Township
Nobody well known was born in Soldier Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Soldier Township’s post office opened in 1855.
How does Soldier Township rank for history?
Soldier Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #127 of 151 in Kansas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Soldier Township?
3% of Soldier Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1983.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
