More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #125 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Most of Spring Hill was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spring Hill’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spring Hill is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #125 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 Spring Hill’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 Spring Hill’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1856.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Spring Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1856, James B. Hovey named the community after a town near Mobile, Alabama. "Being somewhat enthusiastic in my estimation of its future, it having all advantages of timber and water, and on a line that must be traveled between Olathe and Paola, I concluded to myself, as there was no one else to conclude with, that this was a good place for a town." – J.B. Hovey, 1857 Hovey served as the communities first postmaster. Also that year, Hovey built the first building in town, the Spring Hill Hotel. The two-story structure, also known as the "Old Traveler's Rest", was located on the highest elevation in town.
Passages that mention Spring Hill, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Johnson County, Kansas1915 · page 133Read the page →
Read the text
On going to the place where Spring Hill is located, I was struck with the natural beauty of the place. The view from the elevated point selected for the public square was grand, and the distance one could see was wonderful. After the town of Aubry was built, twelve miles east of Spring Hill, we could see the houses there every clear day, and the timber adjoining the town of Ossowatomie, eighteen miles southwest of Spring Hill, could be distinctly seen. I settled on the southeast quarter of section 15, township 15, range 23. From my Shawnee landlord I bought
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Johnson County, Kansas1915 · page 198Read the page →
Read the text
right, warning" the recruits not to go over to the citizens' side. John Hayes, a recruit, took the chance, however, and escaped detection. Then Ouantrill started the wagons loaded with the plunder on ahead towards Spring Hill, and he with the prisoners followed, the prisoners on foot. It was evidently the intention of Ouantrill to rob the town of Spring Hill also, as the town was as defenseless as Olathe, but on getting within a mile of town at the farm house of Mr. McKoin he, McKoin, told them that several companies of soldiers had just arrived there and Ouantrill
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
Spring Hill, 1856 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1856, according to Wikidata. Spring Hill’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 502 people here.
How does Spring Hill rank for history?
Spring Hill is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #125 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 Spring Hill?
4% of Spring Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 2007.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
2022
2021
2017
2008
2008
2004
