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History · Wilsey

Wilsey’s post office opened in 1884, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1920.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wilsey’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wilsey began

When was Wilsey founded?

1884

The Wilsey post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hill Spring (1868) and Mildred (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 337 in 19202020 census: 139142 years
Founding year: the first Wilsey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wilsey’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Wilsey change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wilsey.Old housesHalf of Wilsey’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilsey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilsey’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMissouri Pacific Railroad Company depot: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wilsey on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Wilsey on the 1889 USGS mapWilsey on the 1894 USGS mapWilsey on the 1972 USGS mapWilsey on the 1985 USGS map1889Parkerville 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 Wilsey.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Wilsey’s post office has been open since 1884. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hill Spring
1868–1878
Mildred
1878–1884
Wilsey
1884–today
18601940today

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

The story

How Wilsey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilsey.

Read it all →

An agricultural-based community, Wilsey was named after pioneer John D. Wilsey. In the early 1880s, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was built through the county, at which time Wilsey established the city. The community once supported a business district and schools.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wilsey, 1868 to 1900

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Hill Spring post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Hill Spring post office closes
  4. 1878Post officeThe Mildred post office opens
  5. 1884Post officeThe Mildred post office closes
  6. 1884Post officeThe Wilsey post office opens
  7. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1893In the archiveMap elk chase kansas
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900In the archiveMissouri Pacific Railroad Company depot
By decade

Wilsey, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s2 items
Map elk chase kansas1893Map elk chase kansasMapMissouri Pacific Railroad Company depot1900–1919Missouri Pacific Railroad Company depot
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMap
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Missouri Pacific Railroad Company depot
Retake this viewMissouri Pacific Railroad Company depot, 1900–1919

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wilsey’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wilsey, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 348

Between 139 and 348 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Wilsey’s history

What year was Wilsey founded?

The Wilsey post office opened in 1884, 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 (3), 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.