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History · Wabaunsee

Wabaunsee’s post office opened in 1855, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1953 on.

1855first post office
2on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wabaunsee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wabaunsee began, and where its name came from

When was Wabaunsee founded?

1855

The Wabaunsee post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 104171 years

How did Wabaunsee get its name?

Wabaunsee was named for former Pottawatomi chief Wabaunsee.

Founding year: the first Wabaunsee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wabaunsee’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.Old housesHalf of Wabaunsee’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wabaunsee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBeecher "Bible & Rifle" Church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wabaunsee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wabaunsee.

Read it all →

Wabaunsee was founded in 1855 by a group of nearly 100 emigrants from New Haven, Connecticut. They were inspired by a sermon given by well-known abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, who donated money to help supply rifles for the men to defend themselves. The rifles were smuggled through pro-slavery areas in crates marked "Beecher's Bibles."

Wabaunsee was staunchly anti-slavery and became part of the Underground Railroad in late 1856 and helped Lawrence after Quantrill's Raid. In 1862, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was completed and after the Civil War, Wabaunsee hoped for a railroad, but it was constructed north of the river.

Wabaunsee served as the county seat until after the Civil War, when the seat was transferred to Alma.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wabaunsee, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Beecher "Bible & Rifle" ChurchDate?Beecher "Bible & Rifle" Church
On the map

Wabaunsee on the map, 1953 to 1978

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

Wabaunsee on the 1953 USGS mapWabaunsee on the 1978 USGS map1953Wamego 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 Wabaunsee.

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.

Beecher "Bible & Rifle" Church
Retake this viewBeecher "Bible & Rifle" Church

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Wabaunsee

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wabaunsee

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

See all →
Walter Percy Chrysler Sr.(1875-1940) American automotive industry execut… · b. 1875
D
Dick KnostmanBasketball player · b. 1931
Wendell HallAmerican musician · b. 1896
Delmas Carl HillUnited States federal judge · b. 1906
D
Dean GriffingGridiron football player, coach, and executive · b. 1913
W
Wiley TaylorMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1888

Questions about Wabaunsee’s history

What year was Wabaunsee founded?

The Wabaunsee post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.