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History · Topeka Township

Topeka Township dates to 1854

Most of Topeka Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1860.

1854founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Topeka Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Topeka Township began

When was Topeka Township founded?

1854

Topeka Township dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 759 in 18602020 census: 791172 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓

What stands out about Topeka 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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Topeka Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Topeka Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Topeka Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Consti…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Lynn Creek
1872–1874
Pauline
1872–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue Oaks and Live Oaks Mobile Home ParkGreen Acres Park Mobile Home ParkPauline
1cemetery inside Topeka Township
Lynn Creek

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

The story

How Topeka Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Topeka Township.

Read it all →

The name "Topeka" is a Kansa-Osage word that means "place where we dig potatoes", or "a good place to dig potatoes". As a placename, Topeka was first recorded in 1826 as the Kansa name for the Kansas River. Topeka's founders chose the name in 1855 because it "was novel, of Indian origin, and euphonious of sound". Mixed-heritage Kansa Native American Joseph James, called Jojim, is credited with suggesting Topeka's name.

ChaptersNameEarly history19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Topeka Township, 1854 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingTopeka Township is established
  3. 1856In the archiveKansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Constitution Hall. Col. Sumner dispersing the people ass…
  4. 1872Post officeThe Lynn Creek post office opens
  5. 1872Post officeThe Pauline post office opens
  6. 1874Post officeThe Lynn Creek post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Topeka Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Kansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Constitution Hall. Col. Sumner dispersing the people assembled before the legislative …1856Kansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Constitution Hall. C…
On the map

Topeka Township on the map, 1955 to 1983

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

Topeka Township on the 1955 USGS mapTopeka Township on the 1970 USGS mapTopeka Township on the 1983 USGS map1955Wakarusa 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 Topeka Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Kansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Constitution Hall. Col. Sumner dispersing the people assembled before the legislative …
Retake this viewKansas - Col. Sumner arriving at Constitution Hall. Col. Sumner dispersing the people assembled before the legislative …, 1856

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Topeka Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Topeka Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000190019502000Peak: 127,473

Between 759 and 127,473 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Topeka93 historic placesB+Williamsport Township1 historic placeCTecumseh Township2 historic placesB−Soldier TownshipIts storyC−Mission TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Topeka Township’s history

What year was Topeka Township founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. Topeka Township’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1860 counted 759 people here.

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 (1), Wikidata (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.