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History · Willis

Willis’ post office opened in 1882, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Willis began

When was Willis founded?

1882

The Willis post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mission Centre (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 187 in 19002020 census: 24144 years
Founding year: the first Willis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Willis’ 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.On the map since 18885 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1990. Watch Willis change.Boom and bustPeaked at 217 in 1930; 24 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Willis’ homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Willis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Willis’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.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Willis on the map, 1888 to 1990

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

Willis on the 1888 USGS mapWillis on the 1894 USGS mapWillis on the 1961 USGS mapWillis on the 1985 USGS mapWillis on the 1990 USGS map1888Hiawatha 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 Willis.

People over time

Willis, census by census

01002001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 217

Peaked at 217 in 1930; 24 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Willis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Willis.

Read it all →

Willis had its start as a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. A post office opened in Willis in 1882 and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1960.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Willis, 1877 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Mission Centre post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Mission Centre post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Willis post office opens
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 217
  8. 1960Post officeThe Willis post office closes
By decade

Willis, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Johnson, W.O., June 10, 1901 (Willis State Bank, Willis, Kansas) [ANS Chapman brothers business correspondence]Date?Johnson, W.O., June 10, 1901 (Willis State Bank, Will…Book
Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Willis2004KSMap-doton-Willis
Famous people

Famous people close to Willis

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

See all →
Bernard W. RogersFormer Chief of Staff of the United States Army · b. 1921
Joe TinkerAmerican baseball player, manager · b. 1880
Martin E. TrappAmerican politician · b. 1877
J
John Joseph SullivanCatholic bishop · b. 1920
William P. LambertsonAmerican politician · b. 1880
Danny J. PetersenVietnam War Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1949
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Willis had its own post office from 1882 to 1960. Another post office, Mission Centre, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mission Centre
1877–1882
Willis
1882–1960
18701950today

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

Questions about Willis’ history

What year was Willis founded?

The Willis post office opened in 1882, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.