Circleville, Kansas

 

Circleville is a small town in Jackson County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the city’s population was 153, and it had a total area of 0.26 square miles, all land.

Rufus Oursler, a banker, was one of the earliest settlers of Jefferson Township and the founder of Circleville. Initially from Brown County, Ohio, he located in Leavenworth, Kansas, in May 1857, and engaged in general merchandising. In 1858, he moved to New Brighton, about one mile from Circleville, and opened a general store. In 1860, he laid out the present townsite of Circleville, starting a grist and sawmill, a carding machine, and a general store. From 1865 to 1867, he was in the wholesale dry goods business in Leavenworth, while still retaining his business interests in Circleville. In 1868, he sold out his store and mill and engaged in the stock business until 1876, when he started the Bank of Circleville. Married with three children, he was elected to the State Senate in 1863 and served one term.

F.C. Nuzman, a dealer in hardware and lumber, was born in Germany. In 1855, he emigrated to America and settled in Indiana, where he farmed. In 1860, he moved to Jackson County, Kansas, settling on a farm one mile West of Circleville. In 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, and was at the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Fort Wayne, and other engagements of his regiment. He was mustered out at the close of the war in 1865 and returned to his farm in Jackson County, where he remained until 1881. At that time, he entered the hardware and lumber trade in Circleville. His sales amounted to $21,000 the first year. Married with children, he held the offices of Township Trustee and Clerk.

A post office was established on July 27, 1861. It may have been named after Circleville, Ohio, or because the town “circled” around the prairie.

Circleville was founded and surveyed in 1863 by Major Thomas J. Anderson. Shortly after the survey, Rufus Oursler erected a store and put up a combination grist and sawmill.

In 1865-66, the Methodist Episcopal Church established a $10,000 seminary, which was later abandoned when the church became interested in Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. For many years, the building was used for school purposes.

Henry Stanley, the proprietor of Augusta Mills, initially from Campbell County, Tennessee,  moved to the Kansas Territory in 1859, locating in the southern part of Nemaha County. In 1860, he moved to Leavenworth County. He was a member of the State Militia during the Civil War and was called out to repel General Sterling Price when on his raid in 1864. He was taken prisoner at Westport, Missouri, but escaped through the hurry of Price’s movements. In 1867, he moved with his family to Circleville. In 1880, he built the Augusta Flouring Mills on Elk Creek for $8,000.

At that time, Circleville was described as a thriving village situated on the Kansas Central Railway. The city contained 15 blocks and had The Circleville Hotel, operated by Dr. A.Y. Hanson; Oursler’s Bank; a Methodist Episcopal Church and parsonage; and the usual number of general stores and workshops that make a flourishing Kansas town.

In 1910, Circleville was on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It had banking facilities, telegraph and express offices, and a money order post office with two rural mail routes. All the general lines of business were represented. That year, its population peaked at 265.

Today, the community is served by the Jackson Heights USD 335 public school district, headquartered about four miles North of Holton, Kansas. The district includes the communities of Circleville, Netawaka, Soldier, Whiting, and nearby rural areas.