Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
Ashler | 1879-1885 | Located in the southwest part of Toledo Township, its first postmaster was A.B. Perrigo. When the post office closed, it moved to Elco. It was 11 miles east of Cottonwood Falls, near the Lyon County line. |
Avoca | ?? | Located in both Chase and Butler Counties, it was one mile south of Cedar Point. A post office was on the claim of C. C. Smith, who settled there in 1857. A townsite was incorporated by men from Topeka in 1858. It was south of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad between two branches of creeks running north and west. |
Bazaar/Mary | 1860-1974 | An unincorporated ghost town located in the Flint Hills, it got its start in March 1856 on Rock Creek. |
Bill’s Creek | 1871 | The post office was only open for eight months. The postmaster was William Barnes. It was located about eight miles south of Cedar Point. |
Birley | 1876-1901 | It was first settled in about 1868. W.H. Birley was the first postmaster. In 1910, its population was 32. Bazaar was the nearest railroad station. It was located on the east bank of Cedar Creek, about ten miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls. |
Buckeye City | None | Four log cabins constituted this settlement that was named for Buckeye Creek. The settlers here were Ohio people, hence the name Buckeye. |
Cahola | 1879-1902 | In 1853, the site of Cahola was on the Kaw Indian Reservation, a short distance north of the south line of the reserve. It was one of the three Kaw villages occupied since 1847 by the tribal chiefs. It was burned in 1853 due to a smallpox epidemic that took the lives of many Indians. In 1857, nothing remained but many graves and piles of rubbish. It was named for Cahola Creek, a west branch of the Neosho River in Lyon County. |
Canaan | 1879-1880 | |
Cedar Grove | None | It is located in Cottonwood Township, on the north bank of the Cottonwood River. In 1872, it was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, with J.W. Byrom serving as the station agent. It was one mile north of Cedar Point, where the post office was established. |
Chase Center | None | This site was laid off in 1859. It was the same as Stephen M. Wood Ranch in 1887. |
Cherokee | None | The Cherokee Town Company was incorporated in February 1857 by pro-slavery men from Leavenworth County and Lecompton, Kansas. No location was named. It was probably a paper town only. |
Clements/Crawfordsville | 1881-1988 | Clements, Kansas, in western Chase County, was first called Crawfordsville. It is a ghost town today. |
Corydon | None | Corydon was incorporated in 1858, but no location was given. Probably a paper town only. |
Cottonwood Ranche | None | A stock ranch was established in about 1854 at the mouth of Diamond Spring Creek, about three miles northeast of Elmdale. Seth Hays kept it as a branch of his trading post at Council Grove. |
Diamond Centre | 1876 | The post office was open for less than four months. |
Diamond Creek | None | In Diamond Creek Township, Englishman George Osmer and his family and others were living there in 1865. |
Elba | 1892-1903 | |
Elinor | 1871-1881 |
Located in Toledo Township, Elinor was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad at the mouth of Peyton Creek. Leroy Martin was the first postmaster in 1871. It was three miles west of Safford. |
Elk | 1874-1924 | Elk was founded in 1865 in Diamond Creek Township by Henry Collet after he returned from the Civil War. He built a log house on the homestead site and was appointed the first postmaster. It had a blacksmith shop in the early 1880s. The population was 14 in 1926. In January 1931, the only remaining store and residence were destroyed by fire. |
Evan’s Station | None | George and Thomas Evans were settlers near here in 1859. It was three and a half miles west of Strong City on the northwest branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. |
Fox Creek | 1871-1873 1879-1883 |
A farm post office with Murray Tuttle as postmaster. It was about eight miles north of Strong City. |
Fruitland | 1879-1880 | The post office was open for less than a year. It was ten miles northeast of Cottonwood Falls. |
Gladstone | None | A railroad station at the mouth of the South fork of the Cottonwood River about two and a half miles east of Cottonwood Falls. |
Homestead/Walnut Hill | 1876-1913 | Also called Walnut Hill, settlement began here in 1871. Homestead was a country post office in Cottonwood Township. In 1910, it had a population of 40. It was located 15 miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls. |
Hymer | 1872-1943 | Hymer was a country post office in Diamond Creek Township. On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, it was located on Diamond Creek. The railroad station was called Hilton. In 1910, it had telegraph and express offices, a money order post office, and a population of 30. It was 13 miles northwest of Cottonwood Falls. |
Lida | 1876-1888 | The post office at Prairie Hil with Bill Spencer as postmaster. It was six miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls. |
Margaretta | None | This town was incorporated in 1860 by several men from Cottonwood Falls men. It was probably named for Margaret, the wife of S.N. Wood. It was probably nothing more than a paper town. |
Middle Creek | 1862-1873 1875-1877 |
Located on a creek of the same name, J.S. Shipman was the first postmaster. The post office moved to Elmdale. |
Morgan | 1876-1902 | Probably named for W. A. Morgan, the editor of the Chase County Leader. The postmistress Julia E. Kinne. It was at the head of Rock Creek, southwest of Bazaar. |
Neva Station | None | On a branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad about three and a half miles west of Strong City. |
North Cottonwood Falls | None | The town company filed the plat in January 1861. In 1862, it was a candidate for the county seat. It was located near Elmdale. |
Plumb | 1899-1900 | |
Richards | None | David Richards settled here in May 1858. It was an incorporated town on the east side of the Chicago, Kansas, and Western Railroad in Diamond Creek Township. The townsite was vacated by 1889. |
Rural | 1894-1902 | |
Saffordville/Kenyon/ Safford |
1872-1957 | It was located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Toledo Township. |
Silver Creek | 1861-1881 | The post office moved to Crawfordsville. |
Thurman | 1874-1909 | William Thurman settled here in 1859. It was located on Thurman Creek in Matfield Green Township, 20 miles south of Cottonwood Falls. In 1910, it was connected with Matfield Green by daily stage and had a population of 30. |
Toledo | 1858-1903 | In Toledo Township, O. Thompson started the first general store at Toledo in 1859. John Buchanan was the first postmaster. In the early 1880s, it had a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a physician. It was located near the east line of the county, 11 miles northeast of Cottonwood Falls. |
Union | 1863-1872 | A post office in Diamond Creek Township. Settlers in 1865 included many Germans and Prussians. It was located possibly near Elmdale northwest of the union of Diamond Creek with the Cottonwood River. |
Waupego | None | It was located near the mouth of Diamond Springs Creek, four or five miles west of Cottonwood Falls. The townsite was incorporated in 1858. |
Wonsevu | 1875-1907 |
Wonsevu was a country post office in Cottonwood Township. In 1910, there were two general stores and a population of 57. There are still a few scattered buildings in the area, including an old church and school at the corner of E Road and Cedar Creek Road, 20 miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls. |
Woodhull | 1872-1882 | Woodhull was a country post office on the east bank of Diamond Creek in Diamond Creek Township. It was about seven miles north of Elmdale. The town was supposedly named for Mrs. Victoria Woodhull, a noted woman suffragist who had lectured in Kansas. |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated December 2023.
Also See:
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Cutler, William G; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Kansas GenWeb
Kansas Post Office History