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History · Sterling Township

Sterling Township dates to 1872, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.

1872founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sterling Township began

When was Sterling Township founded?

1872

Sterling Township dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,014 in 18802020 census: 201154 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Sterling 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 Sterling Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Sterling Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sterling Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sterling 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

Sterling Township on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Sterling Township on the 1894 USGS mapSterling Township on the 1967 USGS mapSterling Township on the 1985 USGS map1894Lyons 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 Sterling Township.

The story

How Sterling Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sterling Township.

Read it all →

Sterling was founded in 1872, originally called Peace for Mr. Ninde, a Quaker. In 1876, the name was changed to Sterling, by two brothers after their father Sterling Rosan.

In the 1890s, Jonathan S. Dillon sold groceries at his general store in Sterling. Later in 1913, he opened his first J.S. Dillon Cash Food Market in Hutchinson. Later he expanded into the Dillons grocery supermarket chain.

In the 1970s, Sterling was considered a national "Broomcorn Capital."

ChaptersHistoric places

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Sterling Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Constitutionalists in2026Constitutionalists inSterling, Kansas Skyline2025Sterling, Kansas SkylineSterling, Kansas Power and Water Plant2025Sterling, Kansas Power and Water PlantSterling High School2025Sterling High SchoolSterling Free Public Carnegie Library2025Sterling Free Public Carnegie LibrarySterling Free Public Carnegie Library Plaque2025Sterling Free Public Carnegie Library PlaqueDillons Old Sign2025Dillons Old SignDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Sterling2005KSMap-doton-Sterling
People over time

Sterling Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,642

Between 1,014 and 2,642 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Bull Creek Oil FieldoilfieldFritzpatrick Gas FieldoilfieldSchafer AirfieldairportSterling Airportairport
1cemetery inside Sterling Township
Sterling

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.

Medford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townValley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrant TownshipIts storyCAtlanta TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Washington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sterling Township’s history

What year was Sterling Township founded?

In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 1,014 people here.

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 (9), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.