Early day Willis, Kansas, in Brown County.
Willis, Kansas, is a ghost town in Mission Township of Brown County. It is also an extinct town, as its post office closed decades ago. Though it showed much promise in its early days, it is a shell of its former self today. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24, and its total area is 0.17 square miles, all land.
Blacksmith and Wagon shop in Willis, Kansas.
In the early 1880s, it was a new station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and the post office moved from Mission Centre on June 14, 1882. John Goodwin established a General Hardware store that year.
Gift & Zimmerman, wagon and carriage makers and general blacksmiths, was established in September 1882 by C. William Gift and Edward Zimmerman. Another business established that year was the firm Chapman & Kipp, owned by J. W. Kipp and N.E. Chapman, dealers in general merchandise, groceries, boots, shoes, etc. Lester M. King and Albert D. Small, the proprietors of Small & King, were contractors and builders.
Elevator No. 1 was opened on November 1, 1882. Built for $6,000, it had a storage capacity of 20,000 bushels, an additional storage capacity of 25,000 bushels, and a working capacity of six to seven cars per day. The building was owned by the Farmers’ Elevator and Mill Company, which shipped grain to various points, including 50,000 bushels of wheat, 30,000 bushels of corn, and 2,500 bushels of small grain.
J.W. Miles established a General Merchandise store in March 1883.
The Peter Trompeter building on the corner of Hudson and 3rd Street in Willis, 1887. This building and most buildings between Hudson and Center Streets were later destroyed in a large fire.
Bank in early day Willis, Kansas.
The Methodist Church building, completed at Mission Centre in the fall of 1882, was moved to Willis in March 1883. It was then entirely renovated and remodeled and had a seating capacity of 300. The dimensions of the building, including a stately corner tower, were 28×50 feet. It also had a Sabbath school with a good-sized library and a membership of 80 scholars and ten teachers.
The First Presbyterian Church was erected in the summer of 1883. It was a frame structure measuring 30 x 50 feet, with a stately corner tower and a seating capacity of 200. It was built for $3,000. Soon, a prosperous Sabbath school was connected with the church.
That year Harpster & Aigler established a bank.
A druggist and capitalist, Peter Trompeter, established the Trompeter Building in 1884. The same year, T.J. Beall & Co. became a dealer in General Hardware and all kinds of farm implements.
By 1910, Willis was an incorporated city of the third class. At that time, it was still a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It had a bank, several general stores, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order post office with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 188.
Willis, Kansas High School ruins by Kathy Alexander.
A large brick 2 1/2 story rural high school was built in Willis at 348 1st Street in 1917. The commercial-style dark red brick brick building had stone sills and double-hung windows
The town’s population peaked at 217 in 1930.
In the following years, the town did not grow; its population declined, and its post office closed on January 31, 1960. Willis High School graduated its last class in 1965.
Today, Willis still displays a couple of old business buildings, homes, a grain elevator, and several silos. The former high school is in a state of decay and has crumbled in on itself.
An old business building in Willis, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
The community is served by South Brown County USD 430.
Willis is east of U.S. Highway 73/159 between Horton and Hiawatha.
Editors note: We heard from reader Jim Rees, who traced his missing great-great-grandfather to Willis. His interesting story can be read here.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated November 2024.
Also See:
An old store building in Willis, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
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.
Willis, Kansas Memories