Appomattox, Kansas

Appomattox, Kansas, an extinct town in Grant County, was located in what is now the northwest portion of Ulysses, Kansas.

A town with four names during its relatively short life, this small town was first established with the name of Surprise in 1885. A post office opened on March 17, 1886, in what was then Hamilton County, as Grant County would not be created until 1887. Some of its first settlers were John Arthur, E. R. Watkins, and Frederick Ausmus. Henry H. Cochran and George W. Cook.

When the work on creating Grant County began, several settlers wanted Surprise to vie with Ulysses for the county seat. However, they could not agree with the Surprise Town Company, so they decided to establish a new town about two miles south of Surprise, which was first called Cincinnati; the two towns soon merged. However, supporters of the county seat favored a more patriotic name, such as Ulysses, named after Ulysses S. Grant. On May 26, 1887, the post office name was officially changed from “Surprise” to “Tilden,” named in honor of Samuel J. Tilden, a Democratic presidential candidate in 1876 against Rutherford B. Hayes.

The town grew quickly, including several businesses, The Peoples Bank, three physicians, and the Grand Hotel. Though Tilden had laid the groundwork to become the county seat in 1887, the governor’s proclamation was not made until June 1888, which named Ulysses the temporary county seat.

In October, an election was held to determine the permanent location of the county seat. The voters had to choose between Ulysses and Tilden, resulting in the decision to keep the county seat in Ulysses. But like many other Kansas Counties, the fight wouldn’t end there. Following corruption charges, the case went to the Kansas Supreme Court, where a Tilden partisan, Alvin Campbell, submitted evidence. He presented evidence showing that the Ulysses city council had bonded the people for $36,000 to buy votes, claiming that the total votes paid for were 388. It was an “open secret” that voting fraud occurred, and “professional voters” had been brought in and boarded for the requisite 30 days before the election, each given $10 upon voting. However, it was not known at the time that this had been done at public expense. It was also alleged that “professional toughs” were hired to intimidate the Tilden voters.

The exposure of the fact that public funds had been used created excitement among the county’s citizens, who found themselves subject to bond payments, and those responsible for the outrage retaliated against Alvin Campbell by tarring him in August 1889.

It was also shown in court that Tilden had bought votes and engaged in irregular practices, and Ulysses finally won, though it was a clearly bought victory.

Sure, they would win the lawsuit in the Kansas Supreme Court, but the citizens of Tilden wanted to change the name to something even more patriotic. Colonel T.T. Taylor, president of the Surprise Town Company and having served in the Civil War under General Philip Sheridan, wrote to him to request an appropriate name for a town to be designated the county seat of Grant County. In response, General Sheridan wrote to Taylor, suggesting the name Appomattox, as it was where General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in the Civil War. On February 6, 1890, the town’s name was changed for the final time, as the post office adopted the official name of Appomattox.

The County seat election was between Appomattox and Old Ulysses. Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter, as later that year the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ulysses, a decision that has remained in effect since.

Many town residents and businesses then relocated to Ulysses, and the post office in Appomattox closed permanently on November 15, 1894.

Today, the old townsite occupies part of the grounds of Ulysses High School.