Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Waterville Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Waterville Opera HousePhoto: Bhall87 at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0
–Not graded
History · Waterville Township

Waterville Township’s post office opened in 1868, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Samuel Powell House. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1868first post office
3on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Waterville Township began, and where its name came from

When was Waterville Township founded?

1868

The Waterville Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 615 in 18802020 census: 782158 years

How did Waterville Township get its name?

Waterville Township was named after Waterville, Maine, the hometown of a railroad official.

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

What stands out about Waterville 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 writtenNo old photos of Waterville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Waterville Township change.Old housesHalf of Waterville Township’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterville Township’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
On the map

Waterville Township on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Waterville Township on the 1889 USGS mapWaterville Township on the 1894 USGS mapWaterville Township on the 1968 USGS mapWaterville Township on the 1983 USGS map1889Marysville 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 Waterville Township.

The story

How Waterville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterville Township.

Read it all →

Waterville was founded in 1868 by the railroad company. It was named after Waterville, Maine, the hometown of a railroad official.

The first post office in Waterville was established in February 1868. Waterville was incorporated as a village in 1870 and as a city the following year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Waterville Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Waterville and Blue Rapids, Kansas2012Waterville and Blue Rapids, KansasWeaver Hotel2010Weaver HotelBlueRiverValley2010BlueRiverValleyWaterville Opera House2008Waterville Opera HouseKSMap-doton-Waterville2004KSMap-doton-Waterville
On the National Register

3 historic places in Waterville Township

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Samuel Powell House
Samuel Powell House
Buildings
Samuel Powell HouseBuilding

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

People over time

Waterville Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 717

Between 577 and 717 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waterville Township
KeefoverKenyonRiverside

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Barnes TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlue Rapids City Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWalnut TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCottage Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waterville Township’s history

What year was Waterville Township founded?

The Waterville Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Waterville Township?

3 listings: 1 building, among them the Samuel Powell House (listed 1972, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.