Cullison, Kansas Grain Elevator by Kathy Alexander.
Cullison is a tiny town on the boundary between Banner and Richland Townships in Pratt County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 83, and it had a total area of 0.17 square miles, all of which is land. It is also an extinct town as its post office has been closed for decades. It was named for John B. and Mary M. Cullison, the original owners of the townsite.
Cullison’s development was significantly influenced by its location on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad. A post office was established on August 24, 1885.
Cullison, Kansas Farmer.
By 1910, Cullison had been incorporated and remained a station on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a bank, a grain elevator, a money order post office with two rural routes, telegraph and express offices, telephone connections, a hotel, some well-stocked general stores, and a population of 151. It was the principal shipping and supply point for the surrounding agricultural area.
In 1911, the Farmers‘ Elevator Company was chartered in 1903 with a paid-up capital of $3,600.00 and a valuation of over $29,000.00. It had the best-equipped grain elevator west of Hutchinson, Kansas, on the Rock Island Railway, as well as large coal sheds, a lumber yard, and a substantial general store carrying over $12,000 in stock.
Main Street buildings in Cullison, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.
The same year, Cullison Mercantile carried an extensive and varied stock of general merchandise, including groceries, dry goods, clothing, shoes, hats, and caps, as well as a fine line of furniture, carpets, rugs, and house furnishings of every description. Another thriving business was the hardware and implement business run by Mr. Toews, who carried a large and complete stock of goods.
Cullison’s population peaked in 1930 at 256.
In the next decades, its population dropped, and its post office closed on April 7, 1967.
Though very small today, Cullison still features numerous homes, the Scoular Grain Elevator, a trailer sales and service business, a fire station, and more. It continues to retain its agricultural heritage.
An old business building in Cullison, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.
Cullison is 11 miles west of Pratt, the county seat.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, July 2025.
Also See:
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Pratt Commercial Club; Chronicles of Pratt and Pratt County, Kansas; Pratt County Historical Society, 1911.
Wikipedia