McDonald, Kansas

McDonald, Kansas, is a small town in Celia Township of Rawlins County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 113. It has a total area of 0.22 square miles, all of which is land.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was built through the county in 1887 and 1888.

McDonald was platted on June 7, 1888, by the Lincoln Land Company. However, the office of Register of Deeds shows that the document was filed on January 7, 1889, at which time sales of lots began.

The post office relocated from Celia to McDonald and opened on July 21, 1888. The town was named for Rice L. McDonald, a homesteader who donated land for the new town. Most of the buildings were relocated from Celia, located three miles to the east, which had been bypassed by the railroad, to McDonald, including a restaurant and the Mercantile Store.

In 1910, McDonald was still a station on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. At that time, it had a bank, a weekly newspaper called The News, several mercantile establishments, telegraph and express offices, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 350.

The first county fair was held in McDonald in September 1918, but it was later moved to Atwood.

School unification consolidated McDonald and Bird City schools, and in 1975, created USD 103. The Cheylin High School mascot is the Cheylin Cougars.

According to weather data tallied between July 1, 1985, and June 30, 2015, McDonald, Kansas, is the snowiest place in Kansas with an average of 37.6 inches of snow per year.

McDonald is 22 miles west of Atwood, the county seat.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, September 2025.

Also See:

Kansas Towns & Cities

Northwest Kansas

Rawlins County, Kansas

Rawlins County Photo Gallery

Sources:

Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing
Fort Hays State University
Wikipedia