Ames, Kansas townsite marker by Kathy Alexander.
Ames, Kansas, is an extinct town in Shirley Township of Cloud County. However, it is a census-designated place, and as of the 2020 census, its population was 33.
It was located on the south side of the Republican River on the Central Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad in the center of a beautiful and productive agricultural country.
One of the first buildings in the area was the First Union Church of Ames, a neat frame building erected in 1872.
The post office moved from nearby Shirley on May 28, 1878, and George Clark was the first postmaster.
The first residence was built by O.B. Thompson, who was also among the first to embark in business there. George Clark conducted the first store, followed closely by Thomas & Sharad; William Frederick, a blacksmith; Chester Thomas, general merchandise; George Dersey, groceries; and Mr. Blackmar, a grain buyer. Others followed quickly, and Ames became a town of considerable importance, with all lines of business being represented. The eastern capitalist, W.P. Rice, did much to boom Ames, building two large stores and a spacious hall.
Ames, Kansas Grain Company by Kathy Alexander.
The Ames State Bank opened in September 1885, with W.D. Rice as president and E.K. Streeter as cashier.
The Ames Advance newspaper was published in 1885-1886.
On March 6, 1886, when the first election was held, George Clark was elected mayor.
On April 27, 1886, eight buildings and the entire lumber yard of the B.L. and M. Lumber Company were consumed by fire.
The Ames Bureau newspaper was published in 1887.
By the 20th century, however, the town had diminished in population. But it had one of the most extensive elevators west of the Mississippi River, with a capacity of 14,000 bushels. E.B. Purcell built it, and the Baker, Greenleaf Company later owned it. The Roach Brothers also had an elevator in Ames.
No. 59 School was erected just south of Ames, Kansas, in 1910. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
In the early 1900s, S.H. Hooper was the town’s leading merchant and only general store. He carried an extensive and well-selected stock of goods and drew trade from the more significant part of the community surrounding the village.
On May 9, 1902, a fire destroyed the sizeable mercantile house of Wood & Hill and the Chicago Lumber Company’s yards.
In 1910, Ames was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, had a money order post office with one rural delivery route, express and telegraph service, some good mercantile houses, and a population of 120.
In the following decades, its population declined, and its post office closed on January 30, 1993.
Today, the community still has several homes, an operating grain business, several silos, and an old school. It is served by the Clifton-Clyde USD 224 public school district.
Ames is 12 miles east of Concordia, the county seat, and three miles southwest of Clyde, next to state highway K-9.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, October 2024.
Silos and grain elevator in Ames, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Also See:
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Hollibaugh, E.F.; Biographical history of Cloud County, Kansas, 1903.
Kansas Post Office History
Wikipedia