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Wellsville, KSPhoto: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
BHistory
History · Wellsville

Wellsville’s post office opened in 1870, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Wellsville Bank Building.

1870first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wellsville began

When was Wellsville founded?

1870

The Wellsville post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872.

2020 census: 1,953156 years

How historic is Wellsville?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wellsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wellsville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wellsville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wellsville’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.1% of homes (±6.0) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 4.5 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder

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 Wellsville’s 4.5 sits near the middle of its state (45% 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1872 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 Wellsville’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 Wellsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wellsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wellsville’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
The story

How Wellsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wellsville.

Read it all →

Wellsville was platted in 1870. The community was named after D.L. Wells, a railroad construction engineer.

The first post office in Wellsville was established in October 1870.

On January 9, 1894, baseball star Charlie Bennett went hunting with pitcher John Clarkson. Bennett got off the train in Wellsville to speak to an acquaintance; when he tried to reboard, he slipped and fell under the train's wheels. Bennett lost both legs in the accident. He was fitted with artificial limbs but his baseball career was over; he lived until 1927.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wellsville, 1862 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Born hereGeorge Pettibone is born here
  3. 1870Post officeThe Wellsville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Born hereElizabeth Layton is born here
  6. 1922Born hereBill Grigsby is born here
  7. 1931Born hereGeorge Wingert is born here
By decade

Wellsville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Wellsville, KS2022Wellsville, KSKSMap-doton-Wellsville2004KSMap-doton-Wellsville
On the National Register

1 historic place in Wellsville

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
1991
Wellsville Bank Building
Wellsville Bank Building
Buildings
Wellsville Bank BuildingBuilding

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Wellsville

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

See all →
B
Bill GrigsbyAmerican football broadcaster · b. 1922
E
Elizabeth LaytonAmerican "outsider" artist · b. 1909
George PettiboneAmerican labor leader · b. 1862
G
George WingertAmerican politician · b. 1931
M
Mark SamselAmerican politician
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Franklin Township3 historic placesA−Richland Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Wellsville’s history

What year was Wellsville founded?

The Wellsville post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.

How does Wellsville rank for history?

Wellsville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. 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 Wellsville?

One place: the Wellsville Bank Building (listed 1991).

How old are the homes in Wellsville?

25% of Wellsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.