Extinct Towns of Geary County, Kansas

Union Pacific Railroad Sign in Kansas Falls, Kansas by H. Killam, 1961.

Union Pacific Railroad Sign in Kansas Falls, Kansas by H. Killam, 1961.

Alida

Ashland

Pawnee

Wreford

Town Post Office Dates Additional Information
Acme-Milford Depot 1883-1892 Name change from Milford Depot to Acme on January 8, 1885.
Alida 1870-1939 A little village in Smoky Hill Township. In 1910, it was a station on the Union Pacific Railroad, had a money order post office and a telegraph office, and was a trading and shipping point for that section of the county. Alida was razed when Milford Lake was built. It was eight miles west of Junction City.
Ashland 1855-1868
Irwin Brothers Chuck Wagon in Ashland, Kansas by Francis M. Steele, 1898.

Ashland Cowboys

The first county seat of Geary County.

Briggs 1879-1901 A rural hamlet about 15 miles almost due east of Junction City and the same distance south of Manhattan. Its population in 1910 was 30.
Cedar Grove 1858 The post office was only open for about three months.
Church 1899-1904 A small hamlet located on Humboldt Creek. It was ten miles southeast of Junction City, the most convenient railroad station.
Conroton 1882-1883
Grant 1864-1867
Kansas Falls 1857-1860 Kansas Falls was founded on September 10, 1857. A sawmill was built, and lumber sales were the principal industry. The Kansas Pacific Railroad was built through the Kansas Falls area to Salina in 1867, which prompted several cattle drives in the area. The small hamlet with just a few buildings was on the Smoky Hill River, approximately seven miles southwest of Junction City near Seven Springs.
Kenton 1856-1867
Lyonsdale 1903-1907
Moss Springs 1872-1895
Pawnee 1855
Kansas' first capitol at Pawnee, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.

Kansas’ first capitol at Pawnee.

The old townsite of Pawnee was the first official capital of the Kansas Territory in 1855. The post office moved to Fort Riley when it closed.

Riley City 1856-1862 The post office moved to West Point.
Way 1880-1882
Welcome 1887-1902 A small hamlet located 15 miles southeast of Junction City and seven miles northwest of Alta Vista in Wabaunsee County, the nearest railroad station.
West Point 1862-1865 The post office moved from Riley City.
Westgate  1884-1901 A hamlet located nine miles east of Junction City, seven miles from Fort Riley, the nearest railroad station, and ten miles southwest of Manhattan, in Riley County. Its population in 1910 was 20.
Weston 1874-1904 A hamlet located 15 miles southeast of Junction City and seven miles northwest of Alta Vista, in Wabaunsee County, the nearest railroad station,
Wreford 1882-1918 A hamlet in Lyon Township it was on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, five miles south of Junction City. In 1910, it had general stores, a post office, and a population of  73.

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated August 2024.

Also See:

Cities & Towns of Kansas

Everyplace in Kansas

Geary County, Kansas

Geary County Photo Gallery

Historic Sites

Sources:

Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Cutler, William G; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Geary County History
Geary County Historical Society
Kansas Post Office History