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History · Howard Township

20% of Howard Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1940 on.

0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Howard 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 Howard Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Howard Township’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 so far

Howard Township, in brief

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

Howard Township is one of twenty-four townships in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 552. Howard Township has the name of territorial governor Benjamin Howard.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 554 to 516 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Howard Township, 1880 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Sprague post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1926Post officeThe Sprague post office closes
  5. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Howard Township on the map, 1940 to 1991

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

Howard Township on the 1940 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1991 USGS map1940Hume sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Howard Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Howard Township

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

See all →
Robert A. HeinleinAmerican author and aeronautical engineer · b. 1907
Charles O'RearAmerican photographer and author · b. 1941
Wesley BolinAmerican politician · b. 1909
B
Burt McKinnieAmateur golfer · b. 1879
George H. ChristopherAmerican politician · b. 1888
Bob BeattyAmerican football player · b. 1955
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Sprague, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Sprague
Gone or out of use
Mongomery SchoolschoolMount Leonard SchoolschoolMount Rose SchoolschoolNew Home JunctionlocaleRose-Leonard SchoolschoolSprague Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Howard Township
Hume

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Walnut Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHenry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMetz Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOsage TownshipIts storyC+New Home TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Howard Township’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.