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History · Copan

Copan’s post office opened in 1904

Most of Copan was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

1904first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Copan began

When was Copan founded?

1904

The Copan post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Weldon (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 307 in 19102020 census: 710122 years
Founding year: the first Copan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Copan’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 Copan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1982. Watch Copan change.Boom and bustPeaked at 960 in 1980; 710 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Copan’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Copan’s collection

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

Copan on the map, 1901 to 1982

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

Copan on the 1901 USGS mapCopan on the 1914 USGS mapCopan on the 1972 USGS mapCopan on the 1982 USGS map1901Nowata 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 Copan.

People over time

Copan, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 960

Peaked at 960 in 1980; 710 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Copan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Copan.

Read it all →

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") built a station at this site in 1899, which it named Copan, after the city of Copán, Honduras. However, when a post office was established here in 1900, it was designated as Lawton. The settlement was renamed Weldon in 1901, but reverted to Copan in 1904. It was incorporated under that name in Indian Territory in 1906. The Copan school district was founded in 1906, as well. By 1907, the town had 305 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Copan, 1901 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Weldon post office opens
  3. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1904Post officeThe Weldon post office closes
  5. 1904Post officeThe Copan post office opens
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 960
By decade

Copan, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Montgomery Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Montgomery Co, Ks, USAMap
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Copan’s post office has been open since 1904. Another post office, Weldon, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Weldon
1901–1904
Copan
1904–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Copan’s history

What year was Copan founded?

The Copan post office opened in 1904, 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 (1), 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.