St. Joseph Catholic school and church in New Amelo, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
New Almelo, Kansas, is a small, unincorporated community in Southwest Norton County. It is also an “extinct town ” because it no longer has a post office.
This area was first homesteaded along the Solomon River in 1873 by Catholics from Canada. For several years, it was known as a “French” settlement. In 1878, a town called New Elam was founded, and the St. Joseph Parish was organized on October 29, 1878. The first Catholic Mass was celebrated in a dugout home that year.
A post office was established on February 11, 1979. That year, a separate dugout sod church measuring 16 by 24 feet was constructed for worship services. It also served as a school.
Beginning in the 1880s, Catholics of German and Irish descent were the more dominant ethnic group. On September 20, 1880, its town’s name was changed to New Almelo after the city of Almelo, Netherlands.
St. Joseph Parish in New Amelo, Kansas.
St Joseph Catholic Church in New Amelo, Kansas, courtesy Google Maps.
The dugout church was replaced by a stone St. Joseph Catholic Church in 1880. In 1885, its mail was delivered tri-weekly via stagecoach from Lenora to H.C. Davis, the postmaster. It shipped livestock from Lenora, ten miles distant. A frame school building was constructed next to the church in 1886.
A larger stone church was built in 1900, and the old one was built for school purposes. This new church, measuring 40 by 70 feet, was dedicated on April 26, 1900.
The post office closed on March 15, 1901, but reopened on February 5, 1902. The town struggled during these years, as the post office closed again on April 29, 1905.
The stone church burned down on Easter Sunday, 1908. It was soon replaced with a larger stone building measuring 75 by 100 feet, dedicated on December 8, 1908.
The post office reopened on October 31, 1917. At one point, New Almelo had a hardware store, a general store, and an up-to-date garage.
A new school was built in 1950, and an auditorium was added in 1957. The Sisters of St. Joseph taught until 1973, and the school closed the next year.
The post office closed for its final time on February 17, 1996.
St. Joseph Catholic Church, at 28035 Saint John Street, still has an active parish, and its old school still stands.
New Amelo, Kansas buildings by Kathy Alexander.
Today, the community is served by Norton USD 211 public school district. It is located 30 miles southwest of Norton, the county seat.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Also See:
Extinct Towns of Norton County
Old business building in New Amelo, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Sources:
1884-1885 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R.L. Polk & Co., Chicago, IL.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Catholic Diocese of Salina
Fort Hays State University
RootsWeb
New Amelo, Kansas Cemetery.