Bassett, Kansas, 1914.
| Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
| Allendale | 1898-1901 | A little hamlet situated about five miles northeast of Iola. It is about equally distant from Carlyle on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and La Harpe on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, the nearest railway stations. |
| Bassett | None | A small village located on the Neosho River, about two miles south of Iola, Bassett was founded in 1903 and connected to Iola via the electric railroad street car line the following year. In 1910, it had a population of 40. In 1914, the first concrete road in Kansas was laid in Bassett. As of the 2020 census, the city’s population was 20. |
| Bayard | 1887-1943 | The post office moved from Front. It was a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway in the northeast part of the county, some 15 miles from Iola. In 1910, it had a money order post office with one rural route, an express office, and some mercantile stores. It was a shipping point for the surrounding agricultural district and had a population of 50. |
| Carlyle | 1859-1988 | In 1857, a small colony from Indiana settled here. |
| Cofachiqui | 1856-1859 | Incorporated by the Bogus Legislature in 1855. Pro-slavery men laid out the town. It was the Allen County seat from 1855 to 1860. Cofachique was moved to Iola, and the old site became farmland. |
| Cold Spring | 1861-1862 | |
| Elsmore/Elsinore | 1866-2005 | The name changed from Elsinore to Elsmore On February 11, 1889. The post office closed on April 30, 2005. There are still several homes, a few old business buildings, an old school, and a population of about 50. |
| Fair Lawn | 1879-1881 | Located in the east-central part of the county, it was 11 miles east of Iola Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas Railroad, its shipping point, and the location of the nearest bank. In 1880, it had a district school, where services were held by the different religious congregations, a sorghum mill, several livestock dealers, two blacksmiths, two builders, and a population 150. Corn, cattle, wheat, and hogs were marketed, and mail was delivered four times a week to postmaster A.E. Fellison. |
| Florence | 1858-1859 | The post office was only open for about three months. The post office moved to Carlyle. |
| Front | 1886-1887 | The post office moved to Bayard. |
| Funston | 1892-1901 | A small hamlet a little southeast of the center of the county, it was about ten miles from Iola and about eight miles from Humboldt. Elsmore was the most convenient railroad station. |
| Geneva | 1858-1942 | Geneva, Kansas, located in northwest Allen County, was founded in the summer of 1857. |
| Hamburgh | 1879-1883 | |
| Hendricks | 1882-1883 | |
| Jeddo | 1868-1877 | |
| Jonestown | 1875-1879 | Nine miles east of Iola. |
| Leanna | 1881-1920 | A village in the extreme southern part of the county, it was about six miles southeast of Humboldt, the most convenient railroad station. In 1910, it had a money order post office, was a local trading center for the neighborhood, and had a population of 50. |
| Magnolia | 1862-1863 | |
| Mantua | 1859-1862 | Also spelled Mantau and Mantan. |
| Maplewood | 1872 | The post office was open for less than six months. |
| Mildred | 1907-1973 | An unincorporated community and near ghost town. As of the 2020 census, the community’s population and nearby areas was 25. |
| Neosho | 1871 | The post office was only open for about three months. |
| Orel | 1875-1881 | Settled in 1867, Orel was located on the headwaters of the Marmaton River in Orel Township in the east-central part of the county. In 1880, it had a public school, a justice of the peace, a sorghum mill, two livestock dealers, a physician, a blacksmith and wagonmaker, a carpenter, and a population of 250. It was on the stagecoach line to Ft. Scott and Iola, from which mail was delivered semi-weekly to the postmaster, C.P. Keith. It shipped corn, hogs, and cattle from Iola, 14 miles away and the nearest bank location. When its post office closed, it moved to Morantown. |
| Peru | 1858 | The post office was open for less than four months before moving to Xenia. |
| Petrolia | 1905-1953 | |
| Rocklow | 1877-1886 | Rocklow was located on the Marmaton River in the township of that name. In 1880, it was on the graded but uncompleted railroad from Fort Scott to Humboldt, its shipping point and bank location. At that time, stagecoaches ran to both places tri-weekly, carrying the mail to William. Leonard, the postmaster and general store owner. The town shipped corn, castor beans, and flax. It was 18 miles southeast of Iola, the county seat, and 21 miles east of Humboldt. |
| Savonburg | 1879-1998 | Savonburg is in the southeast corner of Allen County. It still has numerous homes, several old business buildings, an active church, and a population of 74. |
| Sheron | 1873-1877 | |
| Wannersburg | 1880-1891 | Also spelled Wannersburgh. |
| Wise | 1882-1902 |
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated October 2024.
Also See:
Sources:
1880 Kansas State Gazetteer and Business Directory, R. L. Polk and Company, Detroit, MI.
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 Post Office History