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History · Superior Township

Superior Township’s post office opened in 1859, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

1859first post office
0on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Superior Township began

When was Superior Township founded?

1859

The Superior Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Superior (1859) and Peterton (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 245167 years
Founding year: the first Superior Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Superior 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 Superior Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Superior Township change.Old housesHalf of Superior Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Superior Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Superior Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Superior 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

Superior Township on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Superior Township on the 1889 USGS mapSuperior Township on the 1894 USGS mapSuperior Township on the 1971 USGS mapSuperior Township on the 1983 USGS map1889Burlingame 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 Superior Township.

The story so far

Superior Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Superior Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Superior Township is a township in Osage County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 245.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 305 to 245 (-20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Superior Township, 1859 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Superior post office opens
  3. 1862Post officeThe Superior post office closes
  4. 1876Post officeThe Peterton post office opens
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Peterton post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Superior Township

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

See all →
Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr.American pharmacologist · b. 1915
Barnum BrownAmerican paleontologist · b. 1873
J
Jack ColvinAmerican actor · b. 1934
Bob PriceAmerican politician · b. 1927
Barry McDanielAmerican baritone · b. 1930
Victor MurdockAmerican politician · b. 1871
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Superior
1859–1862
Peterton
1876–1904
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Peterton
1cemetery inside Superior Township
Osage City

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.

Osage City2 historic placesBDragoon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrant Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarclay Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townValley Brook Township2 historic placesAOlivet TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Superior Township’s history

What year was Superior Township founded?

The Superior Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.