Oronoque, Kansas.
Oronoque, Kansas, was a village in Leota Township of Norton County. Other than its cemetery, the town is gone today.
In 1883, Isaac Keener, a Civil War veteran from Pennsylvania, was elected sheriff of Norton County. In 1885 and 1893, he was appointed postmaster at Oronoque, where he and his son, Jacob, were engaged in the mercantile business.
In 1885, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was built to Oronoque, becoming its western terminus. After nearby Leota had lost the county seat, what was left of the town moved to Oronoque. The Lincoln Land Company owned the land, D. Morrison was the townsite agent, and lots sold for $150.00. The Oronoque School District No. 99 was organized that year and erected a schoolhouse. The post office was moved from Dallas and opened in Oronoque on November 4, 1885. By the end of the year, there were 75 men at work putting up buildings.
Tom Campbell built the first frame house in 1886.
The first church services occurred in R.W. Ellis’ home until the Hopewell Church was built. The Adventist congregation held their services in the Porter dugout.
The Christian Church was organized in 1905, and the church was built in 1907.
Public School in Oronoque, Kansas.
The Baptist Church was organized in 1906 and soon had a membership of 100.
The town grew steadily until the big fire on October 1, 1909, burned nearly all of the business district, resulting in $20,000 in damages. Oronoque’s people rose from the ashes and rebuilt most of the business district. The Oronoque Orient newspaper was discontinued after the fire. Despite the rebuild, the fire marked the end of the city’s continuing growth.
In 1910, Oronoque was still a station on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. At that time, it had telegraph and express offices, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 200. It was the principal trading and shipping point for a large agricultural district in the western part of the county.
In the next two years, its population dropped. In 1912, it had a grain company, two general stores, a lumber dealer, a hardware store, and a population of 100. Its nearest banking point was in Norton, ten miles distant.
In July 1914, the Farmers Union Business Association was organized and soon had 128 stockholders with a capital of $7,000 under the management of C.E. Huff and its directors. The association owned the farmer’s elevator and general store, an implement business, and a cream station. In 18 months, the association paid a dividend of 240% on the capital stock. C.E. Huff, the manager, was also the pastor of the Christian Church at Oronoque and edited the Oronoque Orient newspaper up until the fire in 1909 when it was discontinued. He also served as the postmaster for a time.
In 1916, the hardware store was moved to Norton. A meat market opened in that year and continued operations until 1935.
Several businesses were established in Oronoque at various times throughout the years. There was a sorghum mill that offered an old-fashioned “taffy pull.” R.S. Palmer ran the Oronoque Hotel and Livery stable. The hotel served excellent meals, as could be found at any hotel in the country. Carl G. Reedy, the general agent for Topeka Bank Savings Life Insurance Company, maintained an office in Oronoque. He was one of the leading life insurance men of northwest Kansas, in charge of several counties and divided his time between them, devoting about one week each month to his Oronoque office. H H. Gausman, an experienced grain man from Nebraska, managed the Central Grain Elevator. Carl L. La Rue, originally from Illinois, was the postmaster and proprietor of the general store.
Oronoque, Kansas Cemetery.
A larger, two-room schoolhouse was built in 1917.
Another fire occurred in 1920, burning the wheat fields between Oberlin and Norton and spreading as far as Oronoque. It burned the harvested crop on 3,000 acres of land, resulting in damages of about $150,000.
The Great Depression affected many people in the Oronoque area and many farmers who could no longer afford to farm packed up and left.
The post office closed on October 15, 1934. All that is left of this community today is its cemetery.
Oronoque was ten miles southwest of Norton, off Highway 383.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Also See:
Sources:
1912 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R. L. Polk & Co., Chicago, IL.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing
Field, Samuel; Oronoque: Out of the Ashes Oronoque, Chapman Center for Rural Studies, May 2015.
Rootsweb