Towanda Township’s post office opened in 1860, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #91 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Most of Towanda Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1880.
The Towanda Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Midian (1918), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 53 in 18802020 census: 2,651166 years
How historic is Towanda Township?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Towanda Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Towanda Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Towanda Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #91 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Towanda 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 Towanda Township’s 3.9 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Towanda Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Towanda Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Towanda Township on the map, 1888 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Towanda Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Eldorado 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 Towanda Township.
Towanda was established in 1870 and incorporated in 1905. Towanda is an Osage-language name meaning "big village".
An F4 tornado devastated the town on March 31, 1892, killing at least nine people and injuring 60.
In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed a few blocks west of Towanda (immediately west of SW River Valley Rd), running north to south through Butler County. With much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).
The Towanda Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Towanda Township rank for history?
Towanda Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #91 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.
How old are the homes in Towanda Township?
6% of Towanda Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (2), 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.
2026
2010