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Woodbine Kansas 8-20-2010Photo: Lane Pearman · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Woodbine

Woodbine’s post office opened in 1872, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Lane Pearman · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Woodbine began

When was Woodbine founded?

1872

The Woodbine post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.

First census: 26 in 18802020 census: 157154 years
Founding year: the first Woodbine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓

What stands out about Woodbine’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 Woodbine are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Woodbine change.Old housesHalf of Woodbine’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 318 in 1920; 157 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodbine’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Woodbine’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
On the map

Woodbine on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Woodbine on the 1889 USGS mapWoodbine on the 1894 USGS mapWoodbine on the 1964 USGS mapWoodbine 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 Woodbine.

The story

How Woodbine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodbine.

Read it all →

The city was founded as Lyons, named for the nearby creek, in 1871 by James Allen Gillett Sr. The first post office at Woodbine was established in January, 1872. In 1887, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad built through the area and Lyons was remapped as Woodbine on July 16, 1887. Gillett renamed it Woodbine after his former hometown of Woodbine, Illinois.

Along the railroad tracks, Woodbine had a grist mill, grain elevator, depot, and stock yards. Passenger service was offered until 1927 and freight was discontinued in the 1990s. Several bus lines served Woodbine after rail service ended. The town was home to the Woodbine Journal during World War I.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Woodbine, 1872 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Woodbine post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1890Born hereMinnie Steckel is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 318
By decade

Woodbine, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Woodbine Kansas 8-20-20102010Woodbine Kansas 8-20-2010Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Woodbine2004KSMap-doton-Woodbine
People over time

Woodbine, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 318

Peaked at 318 in 1920; 157 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Woodbine’s history

What year was Woodbine founded?

The Woodbine post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

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, 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.