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History · St. John Township

St. John Township dates to 1875, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1880.

1875founded
1on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How St. John Township began

When was St. John Township founded?

1875

St. John Township dates its founding to 1875 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 56 in 18802020 census: 975151 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓

What stands out about St. John 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 St. John Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1985. Watch St. John Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,785 in 1910; 1,228 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of St. John Township’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. John Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. John 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

St. John Township on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

St. John Township on the 1891 USGS mapSt. John Township on the 1972 USGS mapSt. John Township on the 1985 USGS map1891Great Bend 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 St. John Township.

People over time

St. John Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,785

Peaked at 1,785 in 1910; 1,228 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How St. John Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. John Township.

Read it all →

The first settlement in what is today St. John was made in 1875 when William Bickerton of the Church of Jesus Christ founded a religious colony named Zion Valley. By 1879, Zion Valley had grown into a small town, and the residents renamed it St. John, after then governor John P. St. John, in order to gain favor in winning the county seat of Stafford County.

In 2015, due to diligent work of local citizens and former local graduates, the official government listing of locations has been corrected to spell the town correctly as "St. John" instead of "Saint John" that was incorrectly changed by the United States Postal Service in the 1970s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. John Township, 1875 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875
    FoundingSt. John Township is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Kenilworth post office opens
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1898Post officeThe Kenilworth post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,785
By decade

St. John Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
This territory, near St. John, a small town in south-central Kansas, is one of the places in early America where, as th…2021This territory, near St. John, a small town in south-…A seemingly endless stream of hopper cars extends from a grain elevator2021A seemingly endless stream of hopper cars extends fro…A line of pumpjacks for sale2021A line of pumpjacks for saleDetailed map of St John, Kansas2010Detailed map of St John, KansasMapKSMap-doton-St. John2005KSMap-doton-St. John
On the National Register

1 historic place in St. John Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Kenilworth, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
KenilworthlocaleSchulz Fieldairport

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West Cooper TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth Seward TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOhio Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCleveland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about St. John Township’s history

What year was St. John Township founded?

In 1875, according to Wikidata. St. John Township’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1880 counted 56 people here.

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), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), 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.