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CHistory
History · Ulysses

Ulysses’ post office opened in 1886, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #95 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it

Most of Ulysses was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ulysses’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ulysses began

When was Ulysses founded?

1886

The Ulysses post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1888. Another post office, New Ulysses (1909), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 198 in 18902020 census: 5,788140 years

How historic is Ulysses?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Ulysses post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ulysses’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ulysses is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #95 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 Ulysses’ overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±3.8) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 37%

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 Ulysses’ 1.8 sits near the middle of its state (41% 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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Ulysses’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1985. Watch Ulysses change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ulysses, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · People over time

Ulysses, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5001900192019401960198020002020198 in 1890Low: 103

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Ulysses on the map, 1891 to 1985

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

Ulysses on the 1891 USGS mapUlysses on the 1900 USGS mapUlysses on the 1959 USGS mapUlysses on the 1978 USGS mapUlysses on the 1985 USGS map1891Larned 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 Ulysses.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Ulysses’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, New Ulysses, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ulysses
1886–today
New Ulysses
1909–1921
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hillcrest Trailer CourtMavarick Trailer CourtS and S Trailer Court

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

The story

How Ulysses came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ulysses.

Read it all →

In 1831, south of the future site of Ulysses, Kansas, then a part of Northern Mexico Territory, mountain man and explorer Jedediah Smith was killed by Comanche warriors, on May 27, 1831. The first Ulysses, town, founded in June 1885, was located approximately two miles east of present-day Ulysses. Approximately six weeks later Ulysses' first newspaper, the Grant County Register, began publication.

ChaptersEarly historyEarly 1900sProposed secession

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ulysses, 1886 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Ulysses post office opens
  3. 1889Born hereEugene C. Pulliam is born here
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906In the archiveUlysses Street Scene 1906 D00000218
  7. 1909Post officeThe New Ulysses post office opens
  8. 1910In the archiveNew Ulysses Street Scene 1910 D00000217
  9. 1921Post officeThe New Ulysses post office closes
  10. 1953Born hereSheri L. Dew is born here
  11. 1953Born hereGreg Lewis is born here
  12. 1957Born hereEddie Hare is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 6,161
By decade

Ulysses, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Ulysses Street Scene 1906 D000002181906Ulysses Street Scene 1906 D00000218Colliers Magazine 190907241909Colliers Magazine 19090724New Ulysses Main Street 19091909New Ulysses Main Street 1909New ulysses grant ks31909New ulysses grant ks3Ulysses Hotel Edwards 19091909Ulysses Hotel Edwards 1909
1910s1 item
New Ulysses Street Scene 1910 D000002171910New Ulysses Street Scene 1910 D00000217
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
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.

Ulysses Street Scene 1906 D00000218
Retake this viewUlysses Street Scene 1906 D00000218, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ulysses

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Grant County Courthouse District
Grant County Courthouse District
Districts
Grant County Courthouse DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Ulysses

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
S
Sheri L. DewAmerican businesswoman, Writer and Leader in th… · b. 1953
E
Eugene C. PulliamAmerican newspaper publisher · b. 1889
G
Greg LewisAmerican politician · b. 1953
E
Eddie HareAmerican football punter · b. 1957
Help out

Finish Ulysses’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUlysses Street Scene 1906 D00000218: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Ulysses’ history

What year was Ulysses founded?

The Ulysses post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.

How does Ulysses rank for history?

Ulysses is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #95 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 Ulysses?

One place: the Grant County Courthouse District (listed 2002).

How old are the homes in Ulysses?

6% of Ulysses’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.