Edwards County, Kansas Farming.
| Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
| Bannock | 1891-1908 | Bannock, a small village in Lincoln Township, Edwards County, sat on Rattlesnake Creek. After the introduction of rural free delivery, the post office was discontinued, and people received their mail through the office in Haviland, Kiowa County. Bannock was about 25 miles Southeast of Kinsley, the county seat, and 12 miles South of Belpre, the most convenient railroad station. The population in 1910 was reported as 30. |
| Centerview | 1917-1959 | |
| Dewey | 1898-1899 | The post office Order of change was rescinded. |
| El Paso | 1882-1885 | |
| Fellsburg | 1880-1984 | |
| Garden Grove | 1879-1880 | |
| King | 1903-1907 | The post office Order of change was rescinded. |
| Kirkfield | 1881-1878 | |
| Nettleton-Fitchburgh | 1877-1878 1878-1882 1903-1904 1812-1917 |
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad started the town in 1872 and named it for a railroad official, Mr. Nettleton. John Fitch, from Chicago, Illinois, wanted to establish a plantation in Kansas, so he purchased some land on the northeast edge of the county, which included the settlement of Nettleton. The Fitch home was probably the first of its kind in Western Kansas with plumbing and other conveniences. Mr. Fitch also built a flour mill powered by steam and windmills.
Beginning in 1874, the area endured several years of hard times because of the grasshopper plague and drought. Mr. Fitch lost his fortune and eventually lost his life in a farming accident in 1877. Shortly thereafter, his baby died, and a few weeks later, Mrs. Fitch died. All three graves were on the front lawn of their magnificent home. The post office, established in 1877, was initially named Fitchburg. The following year, the town changed its name to Nettleton. The post office closed in 1917. |
| Nida | 1903 | |
| Prattburg | 1878-1903 1904-1908 |
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| Progress | 1903 | The post office was only open for about nine months. |
| Trousdale | 1916-1967 | Trousdale still has several homes, a few old business buildings, another that appears to be an old school, and the Trousdale Community Church. |
| Villotta | 1879-1880 | |
| Wendell | 1885-1899 | Founded in 1883 by the Millette family, Wendell was platted on June 20, 1885. The Wendell Town Company encouraged people to come to Wendell by offering 25-foot lots. The town grew rapidly, and its citizens hoped it would become the county seat. The county’s boundaries extended to the South and East of the present-day boundaries so that Wendell would have been centrally located. Fred Millette opened a post office and a store in 1885, and other businesses soon followed.
In 1885, a petition was filed to change the county seat from Kinsley to Wendell. Ballot boxes were stuffed in Kinsley’s favor, and that town was declared the winner. Because Wendell lost the county seat, the railroad broke its promise to build tracks through the town and instead routed them through Greensburg. Even though Wendell had some businesses, two churches, and served as the headquarters for the Cannonball Stage Line, citizens gradually moved away, and Wendell ceased to exist by the early 1900s. |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated September 2026.
Also See:
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol. I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, 1912.
Fort Hays State University
Kansas Post Office History