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Shawnee County, Kansas

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
110historic places
—earliest paper
1855formed
178,909pop. 2020
36cemeteries
—CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 110 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1971; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Topeka, Auburn, Todeka.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Kansas is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Shawnee titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

68 of 110 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

110 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
2209 SW 29th / Dr. Karl & Jeanetta Lyle Menninger Education CenterTopekaBuilding2020
ATSF Motive Power BuildingTopekaBuilding2012
Albaugh, Morton, HouseTodekaBuilding2004
Alt, Solomon A., HouseTopekaBuilding2005
Anton-Woodring HouseTopekaBuilding1991
Blacksmith Creek BridgeTopekaSite1983
Bowker HouseTopekaBuilding2007
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic SiteTopekaBuilding1992
Brown, Shannon, HouseTopekaBuilding2022
Casson BuildingTopekaBuilding2018
Cedar CrestTopekaBuilding1982
Central Motor and Finance Corporation BuildingTopekaBuilding1982
Central National BankTopekaBuilding1976
Church of the Assumption Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2015
Church of the Assumption and RectoryTopekaBuilding2008
Church of the Holy NameTopekaBuilding2012
College Avenue Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2007
Columbian BuildingTopekaBuilding1975
Constitution Hall-TopekaTopekaBuilding2008
Country Club Residential Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2022
Crawford BuildingTopekaBuilding1975
Crawford, Nelson Antrim, HouseTopekaBuilding2017
Crosby, William T. and Delora, HouseTopekaBuilding2011
Curtis Junior High SchoolTopekaBuilding2001
Curtis, Charles, HouseTopekaBuilding1973
Davies BuildingTopekaBuilding1977
Devon ApartmentsTopekaBuilding2002
Dillon HouseTopekaBuilding2006
East Topeka Junior High SchoolTopekaBuilding2004
England FarmTopekaBuilding1982
Evergreen Court ApartmentsTopekaBuilding2021
Fire Station No. 1TopekaBuilding2020
Fire Station No. 2-TopekaTopekaBuilding2002
Fire Station No. 4TopekaBuilding2019
Fire Station No. 6TopekaBuilding2020
Fire Station No. 7TopekaBuilding2020
Fool Chief's VillageMenokenSite2021
Gem BuildingTopekaBuilding2006
Giles-Nellis HouseTopekaBuilding1992
Gordon BuildingTopekaBuilding2010
HTK Architects Office BuildingTopekaBuilding2021
Hard Chief's VillageSilver LakeSite2007
Harmon, John C., HouseTopekaBuilding2012
Hicks BlockTopekaBuilding1977
Holliday Park Historic District ITopekaDistrict2002
Holliday Park Historic District IITopekaDistrict2002
Hopkins HouseTecumsehBuilding2009
House at 116 Southwest The DriveTopekaBuilding2020
Hughes Conoco Service StationTopekaBuilding2011
Jayhawk Hotel, Theater and WalkTopekaBuilding1982
Kansas State CapitolTopekaBuilding1971
Kirkpatrick, Hazen L., HouseTopekaBuilding2023
Kouns, Charles and Dorothy, HouseTopekaBuilding2020
Lane Street Church of GodTopekaBuilding2025
Lippitt, James and Freda, HouseTopekaBuilding2020
Luttjohann, Fred and Cora, HouseTopekaBuilding2004
Lyons, Horace G., HouseBerrytonBuilding1984
Masonic Grand Lodge BuildingTopekaBuilding2014
McCauley BridgeAuburnStructure1985
Memorial BuildingTopekaBuilding1975
Menninger Clinic BuildingTopekaBuilding1975
Mill Block Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2015
Morgan HouseTopekaBuilding2004
Mount Auburn CemeteryTopekaDistrict2025
North Topeka Baptist ChurchTopekaBuilding2011
Old German-American State BankTopekaBuilding1980
Park Plaza ApartmentsTopekaBuilding2021
Pottawatomie Baptist Mission Building and Site (Boundary Increase)TopekaSite1973
Pottawatomie Baptist Mission Site (Additional Documentation)TopekaBuilding1971
Potwin Place Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict1980
Ritchie CemeteryTopekaSite2023
Ritchie, John and Mary, HouseTopekaBuilding2015
Ross Row HousesTopekaBuilding1998
Sage InnDoverBuilding1976
Santa Fe HospitalTopekaBuilding2016
Sargent, John, HouseTopekaBuilding1995
Second Missionary Baptist ChurchShawneeBuilding2025
Security Benefit Association Hospital BuildingTopekaBuilding2005
Senate and Curtis Court Apartments Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2015
Shiloh Baptist ChurchTopekaBuilding2018
Shoemaker, J.A., HouseTopekaBuilding2009
South Kansas Avenue Commercial Historic DistrictTopekaDistrict2015
St. John African Methodist Episcopal ChurchTopekaBuilding2008
St. John's Lutheran SchoolTopekaBuilding1985
St. Joseph's Catholic ChurchTopekaBuilding1971
St. Joseph's School-St. Joseph's ConventTopekaBuilding2019
St. Mark's African Methodist Episcopal ChurchTopekaBuilding2019
Sumner Elementary School and Monroe Elementary School NHLTopekaBuilding1987
Swanson Gardner HouseTopekaBuilding2025
Thacher BuildingTopekaBuilding1975
Thomas Arch BridgeAuburnStructure1990
Todd, Lucinda and Alvin, HouseTopekaBuilding2025
Topeka Cemetery Historic District (Boundary Increase)TopekaDistrict2017
Topeka Cemetery-Mausoleum RowTopekaDistrict2001
Topeka Council of Colored Women's Clubs BuildingTopekaBuilding2009
Topeka High SchoolTopekaBuilding2005
Topeka Veterans Administration HospitalTopekaDistrict2019
Union Church BuildingAuburnBuilding2024
Union Pacific Railroad Passenger DepotTopekaBuilding2002
Uniontown CemeteryWillardSite2010
United States Post Office and Court HouseTopekaBuilding2015
Veale, Tinkham, BuildingTopekaBuilding2006
Wakarusa HotelWakarusaBuilding1979
Ward-Meade HouseTopekaBuilding1975
Washburn University Carnegie Library BuildingTopekaBuilding1987
Wea Creek Bowstring Arch Truss BridgeTopekaStructure2003
Westminster Presbyterian ChurchTopekaBuilding2004
Willits HouseTopekaBuilding1997
Woman's Club BuildingTopekaBuilding1982
Woodward, Chester B., HouseTopekaBuilding1992

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Shawnee was formed in 1855 (1855-08-25) from unknown / original county.

SHAWNEE created by Kansas Territory from non-county area.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Shawnee County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).

179k91k3,5131860188019201940196020002020
1860188019001920194019501960198020002020
3,51329,09353,72769,15991,247105,418141,286154,916169,871178,909

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

National Park Service sites nearby

NPS

Park units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).

SiteTypeDist.
brvbPark unit7.0 km

Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

36 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 36 of 36 listed
NameLatLon
Auburn Cemetery38.90853-95.83466
Bauer Cemetery38.98637-95.57672
Bennie Lee Graham Memorial Cemetery39.10196-95.68358
Bethel Cemetery39.00855-95.58662
Czech - Moravian Cemetery39.21627-95.93816
Dover Cemetery38.9577-95.93656
Elevation Cemetery38.98334-95.76165
Emmanuel Cemetery38.97191-95.57482
Foster Cemetery38.99437-95.70655
Half - Day Cemetery39.15945-95.71433
Lynn Creek Cemetery38.95764-95.64035
Mission Center Cemetery39.01487-95.78206
Mount Auburn Cemetery39.03976-95.64965
Mount Calvary Cemetery39.05288-95.73692
Mount Hope Cemetery39.03866-95.73782
Olive Branch Cemetery39.20169-95.97984
Penwell - Gabel Cemetery39.06166-95.72305
Pleasant Hill Cemetery38.91016-95.57571
Prairie Home Cemetery39.10833-95.74721
Richland Cemetery38.87644-95.52002
Rochester Cemetery39.10444-95.68026
Rossville Cemetery39.1436-95.93751
Saint Bartholomew Cemetery38.88647-95.88075
Security Benefit Association Cemetery39.06308-95.76111
Shawnee Center Cemetery38.87764-95.70654
Shawnee Center Cemetery38.87763-95.70656
Silver Lake Cemetery39.11889-95.86193
Silver Lake Cemetery39.11883-95.86192
Simerwell Cemetery38.91834-95.74971
Topeka Cemetery39.04071-95.65257
Uniontown Cemetery39.08455-95.93758
Valencia Cemetery39.0587-95.88069
Walnut Hill Cemetery39.19359-95.85033
West Lawn Memorial Gardens39.05152-95.81536
Yocum Cemetery38.88489-95.65542
Zion Cemetery38.98641-95.54698

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Shawnee County, Kansas

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.