Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0

History · Wichita

Wichita has 140 places on the National Register

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #57 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it

Dated to 1868 (Wikidata), with 10% of its homes built before 1940 and 16 historic districts holding 733 contributing buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, the census since 1870, and every listing on the Register.

1868founded

140on the National Register

10%homes built before 1940

6old photos & papers

34famous people

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Quick answers

How Wichita began

When was Wichita founded?

1868

Wichita dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 689 in 18702020 census: 397,532158 years

How historic is Wichita?

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Wichita’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wichita is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #57 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wichita’s overall grade.

Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±0.6) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register140 listings, 733 historic buildings, 18.4 per 10,000 residents · typical KS town 5.1 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%

NewerOlder

Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 63%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Wichita ranks #199 on History.

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 Wichita’s 18.4 sits above most of its state (79% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 733 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1868.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wichita’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register140 places on the National Register.A historic districtThe Park Place-Fairview Historic District takes in 171 historic buildings.Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wichita, and 90 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1914, drew every building in Wichita.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

140 listings protect 733 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

140

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

733

each building in a district counts

first listed

1971

University Hall, Friends University

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1

Mediterranean Revival1

Colonial Revival1

Classical Revival1

University Hall, Friends UniversityBuilding

Old Sedgwick County CourthouseBuilt 1888

Wichita City HallBuilt 1892

Carey HouseBuilt 1887

Scottish Rite TempleBuilt 1887

Henry J. Allen HouseBuilt 1919

B. H. Campbell HouseBuilt 1888

Rock Island DepotBuilt 1887

All 140 listings

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

Places that used to be

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

Wichita’s post office has been open since 1869. Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wichita

1869–today

Minneha

1871–1900

Jamesburgh

1873–1880

Oatville

1884–1936

Payne

1884–1884

Manchester

1887–1889

Gladys

1888–1891

North Wichita

1888–1901

18601940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Air Capital Mobile Home ParkArkansas Mobile Home ParkAudora Mobile Home ParkBonnie BraeBrookhavenBrowns Mobile Home ParkCambridge Mobile Home ParkCaudill Mobile Home ParkCedar Ridge Mobile Home ParkColonial Mobile Home ParkConestoga Mobile Home ParkCottonwood Grove Mobile Home ParkCounty AcresCow TownEl Caudillo Mobile Home ParkFishin Mobile Home ParkForest HillsGlen Acres Mobile Home ParkGlenvilleHarbor Mobile Home ParkHardison Shady Acres Mobile Home ParkHidden Park Mobile Home ParkK - 15 Mobile Home ParkK and R Mobile Home Park

Gone or out of use

Carter Elementary SchoolschoolCentral SchoolschoolDaisy SchoolschoolEnterprise SchoolschoolFarbique SchoolschoolFidelity SchoolschoolFinn SchoolschoolFunston Elementary SchoolschoolGem SchoolschoolGladyslocaleHarmony ChurchchurchJamesburg SchoolschoolKnight Elementary SchoolschoolMacArthur SchoolschoolMartin SchoolschoolMartinson SchoolschoolMcCormick SchoolschoolMount Carmel Academyschool

18cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wichita

CalvaryGreenwichHighlandJamesburgKensington GardensLakeview GardensLutheranMaple GroveOld Mission Wichita ParkPierpointResthavenResurrectionSaint PetersSeltzerTemple EmanuelWhite Chapel Memorial GardensWichita HebrewWichita Park

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

The story

How Wichita came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wichita.

Read it all →

Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 BC. In 1541, a Spanish expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by the Quivira, or Wichita, people. Conflict with the Osage in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south. Prior to European settlement of the region, the site was in the territory of the Kiowa.

Claimed first by France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it became part of Kansas Territory in 1854 and then the state of Kansas in 1861.

ChaptersEarly history 19th century 20th century 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Wichita, 1910–1914

Passages that mention Wichita, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Both of these qualifications were produced by the rustling men who made and l)uilt Wichita. The early fathers of Wichita, seeing the blue stem grass sweeping the saddle horns of the cowboys as they rode the trail in and out of Wichita, realized that they must have a railroad, and would have given h… — **Illustrated history of early Wichita**1914Read the page →
Read the text
Both of these qualifications were produced by the rustling men who made and l)uilt Wichita. The early fathers of Wichita, seeing the blue stem grass sweeping the saddle horns of the cowboys as they rode the trail in and out of Wichita, realized that they must have a railroad, and would have given half the town to the railway company to get them in.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**Illustrated history of early Wichita**1914Read the page →
Read the text
Mrs. L. 5. Carter Wichita has always felt the right to eulogize the splendid mothers and daughters in her midst. The number is legion, yet all of Wichita's citizens recognize that where England had its
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

On the corner of Main and Douglas avenue, in the city of Wichita, the best business corner in Wichita, and the best in Kansas, Henry Schweiter, an old resident of this great county of Sedgwick, single-handed and alone, is erecting a magnificent tenstory building, a credit to the city and a monument… — **History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas, past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county**1910 · page 326Read the page →
Read the text
On the corner of Main and Douglas avenue, in the city of Wichita, the best business corner in Wichita, and the best in Kansas, Henry Schweiter, an old resident of this great county of Sedgwick, single-handed and alone, is erecting a magnificent tenstory building, a credit to the city and a monument to the sagacity, thrift and enterprise of the owner, who is one of the best known and much respected citizens of Wichita. Coming to W ichita comparatively poor, in an early day in the history of the city
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

In 1868 Mr. Mathewson pre-empted a homestead at a spot near the Arkansas river which is now iu the heart of the city of Wichita. Here he built the first house in Wichita of logs, which was torn down in the fortieth year after its erection. Prom some shingles and other wood from it has been made a f… — **History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas, past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county**1910 · page 299Read the page →
Read the text
In 1868 Mr. Mathewson pre-empted a homestead at a spot near the Arkansas river which is now iu the heart of the city of Wichita. Here he built the first house in Wichita of logs, which was torn down in the fortieth year after its erection. Prom some shingles and other wood from it has been made a fine violin.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Wichita, 1868 to 1998

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

19th century
1868
FoundingWichita is established
1868In the archiveNarcissa Latimer letter to sisters, November 29, 1868
1869Post officeThe Wichita post office opens
1871Post officeThe Minneha post office opens
1873Post officeThe Jamesburgh post office opens
1880Post officeThe Jamesburgh post office closes
1887BuiltCarey House is built
1887BuiltScottish Rite Temple is built
1888BuiltOld Sedgwick County Courthouse is built
1892BuiltWichita City Hall is built
1893Born hereHattie McDaniel is born here
20th century
1900Post officeThe Minneha post office closes
1943Born hereRobert Gates is born here
1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1951Born hereKirstie Alley is born here
1998Born hereMrBeast is born here

By decade

Wichita, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s6 items

1868Narcissa Latimer letter to sisters, November 29, 1868Document

On the map

Wichita on the map, 1943 to 1982

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

1943Wichita East sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wichita.

Every building

Wichita, building by building, 1884–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Wichita fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 1

1884Sheet 1 of 9

Edition

Sheets

+8 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Wichita, census by census

Grew from 689 people in 1870 to 397,532 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

34 famous people were born in Wichita

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

See all →

MrBeastAmerican YouTuber, media personality and busine… · b. 1998

Kirstie AlleyAmerican actress · b. 1951

Hattie McDanielAmerican actress · b. 1893

Robert GatesCIA director, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and un… · b. 1943

Vernon L. SmithAmerican economist · b. 1927

David KochAmerican billionaire heir and businessman · b. 1940

Help out

Finish Wichita’s story

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

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Minneha TownshipIts storyC⁻Riverside Township1 historic placeC⁻Waco TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Attica Township1 historic placeC Park TownshipIts storyD Kechi TownshipIts storyD Gypsum TownshipIts storyD MaizeIts storyC⁻McConnell AFBIts storyD⁻Payne TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Wichita’s history

What year was Wichita founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Wichita’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1870 counted 689 people here.

How does Wichita rank for history?

Wichita is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Wichita?

140 listings: 119 buildings, among them the University Hall, Friends University (listed 1971, the first), 16 historic districts with 573 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 4 structures. 733 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Wichita?

10% of Wichita’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (140), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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