Valeda, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Valeda, Kansas, is an unincorporated community in Howard Township of southern Labette County. It is also an extinct town as it no longer has a post office.
In this area, School District #51 was established in December 1875, and the first schoolhouse was an old store building that had been purchased and relocated from Parker.
Probably the old bank building in Valeda, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
In 1886, the school building was sold, the district’s boundary was altered, and the schoolhouse site was relocated to Valeda, which had recently been established. The Excelsior Town and Mining Company owned the site, and a plat was filed that year. The first building was a merchandise store erected by Stone & Willie. Dr. Kenworth opened the first drugstore, C.M. Keeler erected a store building and put in a stock of goods, and a new schoolhouse was erected that year. The same year, the post office was moved from Deerton and opened in Valeda on September 3, 1886. Soon, the rest of the town of Deerton was moved to the Valeda townsite.
In 1910, Valeda was located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, at which time it had a money order post office, one rural route, an express office, and a population of 100.
The Valeda State Bank was organized on June 1, 1915, under a state charter. The institution was given a good start not only by reason of its capital of $10,000, but also by the subsequent accumulation of a surplus of $2,500. The president of the bank was A. E. Townsend, the vice president was W.H. Bollman, and the cashier was A.H. McCarty. The bank building was soon erected on Main Street.
Old Valeda, Kansas School by Kathy Alexander.
In 1925, the school building was insufficient, and the people of the district voted on a $15,000 bond to build a new one. The new brick building with five classrooms and an auditorium cost about $11,000. The first day of school was September 6, 1926.
The Valeda School closed in 1966, and students were integrated with the Edna School on September 2. The following year, all items from the school were auctioned off.
Valeda’s post office closed on January 12, 1968.
Valeda still has a small population and a few area homes.
Methodist Church in Valeda, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Valeda is 29 miles southwest of Oswego and six miles southwest of Edna, Kansas.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated September 2025.
Also See:
Extinct Towns of Labette County
Old metal barn in Valeda, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Sources:
Abandoned Kansas
Access Genealogy
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Ksgenweb
Wikipedia