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–Not graded
History · Township 12

59% of Township 12’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on.

0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Township 12’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 Township 12 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Township 12, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Township 12 change.Old housesHalf of Township 12’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Township 12’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Township 12’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Eagle Creek
1878–1884
Motor
1879–1889
Laton
1884–1904
Codell
1889–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CodellLaton
Gone or out of use
Motorlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Township 12
AuroraCongerParadise CenterShiloh

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

On the map

Township 12 on the map, 1896 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Township 12. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Township 12 on the 1896 USGS mapTownship 12 on the 1978 USGS mapTownship 12 on the 1985 USGS map1896Plainville 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 Township 12.

The story

How Township 12 came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Township 12.

Read it all →

Rooks County was established with four townships: Bow Creek, Lowell, Paradise and Stockton. That number increased to seven by 1878 and twenty three in 1925. The twenty three townships were in place until 1971 when the number was reduced to the current twelve townships.

Township 12 was formed from Rooks County townships Corning and Paradise in 1971 pursuant to Kansas Statute 80-1110. 80-1110 allowed for the disorganization of townships and assigning those territories to contiguous townships.

Corning Township was established from part of Paradise Township around 1884.

ChaptersCorning TownshipParadise Township

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Township 12, 1878 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Eagle Creek post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Motor post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Eagle Creek post office closes
  5. 1884Post officeThe Laton post office opens
  6. 1889Post officeThe Motor post office closes
  7. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904Post officeThe Laton 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 Township 12

Nobody well known was born in Township 12 itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
B
Bruce GoffAmerican architect · b. 1904
Dale DodrillAmerican football player · b. 1926
B
Brent CollinsActor · b. 1941
Mal StevensAmerican tennis player · b. 1900
L
Len DuganAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1910
H
Harry McGeeAmerican football player · b. 1905
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Township 11Its storyC+Natoma Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRound Mound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBuckeye TownshipIts storyB−Township 1Its storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHerzog Township4 historic placesB+

Questions about Township 12’s history

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 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.