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History · Cathay

Cathay’s post office opened in 1893, and 71% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1910.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
71%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: {{{1}}} · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Cathay began

When was Cathay founded?

1893

The Cathay post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 225 in 19102020 census: 20133 years
Founding year: the first Cathay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cathay’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 Cathay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cathay’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cathay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cathay’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
The story

How Cathay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cathay.

Read it all →

Cathay got its start following construction of the railroad through the territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cathay, 1893 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Cathay post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Born hereRaymond B. Allen is born here
  5. 1949On 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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Cathay on the map, 1949 to 1986

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

Cathay on the 1949 USGS mapCathay on the 1986 USGS map1949Cathay 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 Cathay.

People over time

Cathay, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 235

Between 20 and 235 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Cathay’s history

What year was Cathay founded?

The Cathay post office opened in 1893, 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 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.