[3] For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1855, Butler County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Potwin.

[4] Joseph came from West Virginia and, as more settlers arrived, became interested in a railroad to serve the area.

[4] A post office was established in Ayr (an extinct town) on July 12, 1875, but it was moved to Potwin on September 22, 1885.

[5][6] It quickly grew, including some businesses and houses from nearby community of Plum Grove.

He got his start in oil fields in Butler County, commencing with the lease on the Parris Farm 10 miles north of Potwin, production reached 16,000 barrels a day during the 1950s.

In 1934, Vickers built a large mansion (named "Vickridge") east of Wichita (now in the city limits), which his estate later become the current site of Kapaun Mt.

[8] In 1961, Frederic Remington High School was built immediately north of Brainerd.

Heated opposition between Whitewater and Potwin occurred during the discussion for the location of the new high school.

[9] From 1960s to 1980s, a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile site was located north of Potwin.

The site was one of eighteen overseen by the 381st Strategic Missile Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed along the east city limits of Potwin, north to south through Butler County, with much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).

[12] In an unusual technical glitch, a farmstead about 4 miles northeast of Potwin became the default geolocation of 600 million IP addresses when the Massachusetts-based digital mapping company MaxMind changed the putative geographic center of the contiguous United States from 39.8333333,-98.585522 to 38.0000,-97.0000.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.24 square miles (0.62 km2), all of it land.

[15] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

[16] The 2020 United States census counted 421 people, 168 households, and 113 families in Potwin.

The racial makeup of the city was 95.40% White, 1.53% Native American, 0.22% Asian, and 2.84% from two or more races.