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History · Strong City

Strong City dates to 1871, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Strong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Depot. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1871founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Strong City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Strong City began

When was Strong City founded?

1871

Strong City dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 324 in 18802020 census: 386155 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Strong City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,128 in 1900; 386 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1912, drew every building in Strong City.Old housesHalf of Strong City’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Strong City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Strong City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlint Hills Scenic Byway - Strong City …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Strong City, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,128

Peaked at 1,128 in 1900; 386 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Strong City, building by building, 1892–1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Strong City fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Strong City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Strong City.

Read it all →

In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia to Newton. The city originated in March 1871 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was completed to the point then known as Cottonwood Station. Strong City was originally called Cottonwood, and under the latter name laid out in 1872.

In 1881, the name was changed to Strong, in honor of William Barstow Strong, General Superintendent of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and afterward the president of the company.

The original depot was a wooden building, built in 1872, which burned in 1902 and was replaced in 1903 by another wooden building. From 1887 to 1938, a six-stall engine roundhouse employed many workers.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th centuryStone industry

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Strong City, 1871 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingStrong City is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Cottonwood post office opens
  4. 1881Post officeThe Cottonwood post office closes
  5. 1893In the archiveMap elk chase kansas
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,128
  8. 1913BuiltStrong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Depot is built
  9. 1951Post officeThe Strong City post office opens
  10. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1995In the archiveFlint Hills Scenic Byway - Strong City Kiosk
By decade

Strong City, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Map elk chase kansas1893Map elk chase kansasMap
1900s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s2 items
Flint Hills Scenic Byway - Strong City Kiosk1995Flint Hills Scenic Byway - Strong City KioskNational Scenic Byway - Flint Hills (Kansas)1995National Scenic Byway - Flint Hills (Kansas)
Today8 recent
Strong City Station P53004042012Strong City Station P5300404Strong City David Rettiger 1886 P53003992012Strong City David Rettiger 1886 P5300399Front of the ranch house at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve2011Front of the ranch house at the Tallgrass Prairie Nat…Detailed map of Strong City, Kansas2010Detailed map of Strong City, KansasMapZ-bar-ranch-house2009Z-bar-ranch-houseStrong city kansas post office 20092009Strong city kansas post office 2009Strong city grocery kansas 20092009Strong city grocery kansas 2009KSMap-doton-Strong City2004KSMap-doton-Strong City
On the map

Strong City on the map, 1957 to 1989

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

Strong City on the 1957 USGS mapStrong City on the 1979 USGS mapStrong City on the 1989 USGS map1957Strong City 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 Strong City.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Strong City

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
first listed
2007
Strong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Depot
Strong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Depot, built 1913
Buildings
Strong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe DepotBuilt 1913

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Strong City

Nobody well known was born in Strong City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
R. Lee ErmeyAmerican actor and soldier · b. 1944
A
Arthur SamuelAmerican computer scientist · b. 1901
Dean SmithAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
William Allen WhiteAmerican newspaper editor and Progressive leader · b. 1868
Clint BowyerAmerican racecar driver · b. 1979
Thelma HillAmerican actress · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Strong City’s post office has been open since 1951. Another post office, Cottonwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cottonwood
1871–1881
Strong City
1951–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Strong City’s history

What year was Strong City founded?

In 1871, according to Wikidata. Strong City’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 324 people here.

What is on the National Register in Strong City?

One place: the Strong City Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Depot (listed 2007).

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.