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History · Winchester

Winchester’s post office opened in 1858, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

1858first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Photo: Dylan Edwards · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Winchester began, and where its name came from

When was Winchester founded?

1858

The Winchester post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 461168 years

How did Winchester get its name?

Winchester was named after Winchester, Virginia.

Founding year: the first Winchester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Winchester’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 Winchester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winchester’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Winchester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Winchester.

Read it all →

Winchester was laid out in 1857. It was named after Winchester, Virginia.

A post office in Winchester was established in March 1858 and closed in 2021.

The county hospital in Winchester was established in February 1956.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Winchester, 1858 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Winchester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1938Born hereAl Reynolds is born here
  5. 1943Born hereJerry Robertson is born here
By decade

Winchester, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Winchester, KS2024Winchester, KSWinchester Kansas Post Office 9-16-20142014Winchester Kansas Post Office 9-16-2014KSMap-doton-Winchester2004KSMap-doton-Winchester
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Winchester

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

See all →
Al ReynoldsAmerican football player · b. 1938
J
Jerry RobertsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1943

Questions about Winchester’s history

What year was Winchester founded?

The Winchester post office opened in 1858, 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 →
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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, 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.