Tecumseh Township’s post office opened in 1855, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #77 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Most of Tecumseh Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listings are the England Farm and the Hopkins House. Below: maps from 1950 on.
The Tecumseh Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Watson (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 7,753171 years
How historic is Tecumseh Township?
B−
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tecumseh Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tecumseh Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tecumseh Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #77 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tecumseh Township’s overall grade.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Tecumseh Township’s 12.9 sits above most of its state (69% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Tecumseh Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
By September 1, 1854, Thomas Stinson platted the townsite of Tecumseh, having settled in the area within the Kansas Territory. It was settled by pro-slavery partisans in the turbulent days of Bleeding Kansas. It temporarily served as the pro-southern capital of the territory and prospered, even having a newspaper. The town's post office opened in March 1855. In 1886, the brick courthouse was sold for US$500 (equivalent to $17,900 in 2025) and removed. After the Civil War, the town rapidly declined and remained so for the next ninety years.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tecumseh Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Grantville 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 Tecumseh Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Tecumseh Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Tecumseh Township post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tecumseh Township rank for history?
Tecumseh Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #77 of 151 in Kansas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Tecumseh Township?
Two places: the England Farm (listed 1982) and the Hopkins House (2009).
How old are the homes in Tecumseh Township?
5% of Tecumseh Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1975.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
2008
