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History · Wildcat Township

Wildcat Township’s post office opened in 1869, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

1869first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wildcat Township began

When was Wildcat Township founded?

1869

The Wildcat Township post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Wild Cat (1869), Grant (1880) and Keats (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 786157 years
Founding year: the first Wildcat Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wildcat 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 Wildcat Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wildcat Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wildcat Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wildcat 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wild Cat
1869–1889
Grant
1880–1898
Keats
1889–1967
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Keats
Gone or out of use
Cleveland SchoolschoolGrantlocale

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

The story so far

Wildcat Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wildcat Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wildcat Township is a township in Riley County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 786.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 885 to 786 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wildcat Township, 1869 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Wild Cat post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Grant post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Wild Cat post office closes
  5. 1889Post officeThe Keats post office opens
  6. 1898Post officeThe Grant post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1967Post officeThe Keats post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Wildcat Township

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

See all →
Charles BachmanAmerican computer scientist · b. 1924
Barbara BabcockAmerican actress · b. 1937
C
Cassandra PetersonAmerican actress · b. 1951
Damon RunyonAmerican writer · b. 1880
Johnny DamonAmerican professional baseball outfielder · b. 1973
D
Del CloseActor, writer, teacher · b. 1934
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Manhattan41 historic placesBMadison TownshipIts storyC−Grant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeatsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManhattan Township3 historic placesB−Ogden TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Wildcat Township’s history

What year was Wildcat Township founded?

The Wildcat Township post office opened in 1869, 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 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.