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History · Strong Township

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

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1893 on.

1871founded
5on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Strong Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Strong Township began

When was Strong Township founded?

1871

Strong Township dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1871.

2020 census: 507155 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Strong 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 writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark5 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.Old housesHalf of Strong Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Strong Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Strong Township’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
On the National Register

5 historic places in Strong Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
2
Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House
Lower Fox Creek School, built 1882Fox Creek Stone Arch Bridge, built 1898Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House, built 1881★Spring Hill Ranch, built 1881★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark
★ Landmark
Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch HouseBuilt 1881
★ Landmark
Spring Hill RanchBuilt 1881
Lower Fox Creek SchoolBuilt 1882
Fox Creek Stone Arch BridgeBuilt 1898

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

The story

How Strong Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Strong Township.

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 Township, 1871 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingStrong Township is established
  3. 1881BuiltSpring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House is built
  4. 1881BuiltSpring Hill Ranch is built
  5. 1881Post officeThe Strong post office opens
  6. 1882BuiltLower Fox Creek School is built
  7. 1893In the archiveMap elk chase kansas
  8. 1898BuiltFox Creek Stone Arch Bridge is built
  9. 20th century
  10. 1951Post officeThe Strong post office closes
  11. 1995In the archiveFlint Hills Scenic Byway - Strong City Kiosk
  12. 1997LandmarkSpring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 1997LandmarkSpring Hill Ranch named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Strong Township, 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)
Today2 recent
Strong city grocery kansas 20092009Strong city grocery kansas 2009KSMap-doton-Strong City2004KSMap-doton-Strong City
Famous people

Famous people close to Strong Township

Nobody well known was born in Strong Township 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
Maud WagnerAmerican circus performer and tattoo artist · b. 1877
William Allen WhiteAmerican newspaper editor and Progressive leader · b. 1868
Clint BowyerAmerican racecar driver · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Gone or out of use
Davis Gas Fieldoilfield
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Strong Township
Saint AnthonySimmonsStrong Township

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.

Falls Township6 historic placesAToledo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDiamond Creek Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Strong Township’s history

What year was Strong Township founded?

In 1871, according to Wikidata. Strong Township’s post office opened in 1871.

What is on the National Register in Strong Township?

5 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 2 buildings, among them the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch House (a National Historic Landmark since 1997), 1 historic district, the Spring Hill Ranch, with 8 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 13 historic buildings in all.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.