Brown County, Kansas Extinct Towns

Early day Hamlin, Kansas Main Street.

Early day Hamlin, Kansas Main Street.

Baker

Hamlin

Padonia

Willis

Town Post Office Dates Additional Information
Arnold 1897-1898
Baker 1882-1933 In June 1882, Baker was established by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was named for the Baker family, the original owners of the town site. It was located eight miles south of Hiawatha.
Buncomb 1870-1871 The post office moved to Saint Francis.
Carson/Sawin’s Store 1857-1898 Town laid out by D. McFarland and others in 1856. The name changed from Sawin’s Store to Carson in 1857. Carson was the first post office established in Walnut Township, and M. L. Swain was the first postmaster.
Claytonville 1857-1882 Claytonville was laid out in November 1856 by George E. Clayton and others on a townsite of 320 acres. It soon had 15 families and a store established by G. E. Clayton in August 1857. However, no city officers were elected. It was briefly the county seat. By the early 1880s, the town site had become farmland.
Cleo 1885-1897
Comet 1881-1894 The post office moved from Discord.
Coss 1885-1887
Discord 1874-1881 The post office moved to Comet.
Emmett 1881-1882
Eyerton 1881-1882 The post office moved to Everest.
Frinkville 1878-1883
Grand Prairie 1870-1888
Hamlin 1857-1973 The original site of Hamlin was two and a half miles south of its current location. As of the 2020 census, its population was about 35. There are still a few scattered homes and buildings in the area.
Jonesville 1879-1885
Mannville 1871-1876
Marak 1870-1882
Mercier/Germantown 1897-1972 Germantown, in Mission Township, was a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. In 1910, it had a money order post office, was the trading point for the surrounding country, and had a population of 50. The name changed from Germantown to Mercier on July 22, 1918. It was ten miles southwest of Hiawatha.
Mission Centre 1877-1882 The post office moved to Willis.
Mount Roy 1857-1858
1871-1882
Nohart 1859-1860 The post office moved to Nebraska.
Padonia 1857-1933 An extinct town in Padonia Township. Amazingly, this tiny place that has been extinct for so long still has grain silos, a couple of buildings, and a few area homes. It is located five miles north of Hiawatha.
Pierce Junction 1888-1914 A station at the junction of the Missouri Pacific and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroads in the southeast corner of the county, it was located 15 miles from Hiawatha. It has telegraph and express offices and a post office. The population in 1910 was 26
Pony Creek 1858-1861
Randall 1864 The post office order of change was rescinded. The post office was open for less than two weeks.
Reserve 1882-1983 Reserve got its start as a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was named for its location on a former Sac & Fox Indian reservation. A post office was established on October 5, 1882. In 1910, it was still located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a bank, two churches, several well-stocked retail stores, telegraph and express offices, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 270. In the following decades, the population gradually dropped, and the post office closed on March 8, 1883. As of 2020, it has a population of about 80, and it is the headquarters of the  Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska. It is about ten miles north of Hiawatha and a mile and a half south of the Nebraska-Kansas border.
Saint Francis 1871-1872 The post office moved from Buncomb.
Springs 1896-1902 In 1910, Springs had a hotel and a general store and received its mail by rural delivery from Sabetha, the nearest shipping point. At that time, it had a population of 20. It was located about 12 miles northwest of Hiawatha.
Tyler’s 1864-1878 Named for John S. Tyler, postmaster. Tyler was a member of the Albany Colony from New York in 1857. It is located at the crossing of Grasshopper Creek, two miles west of Fairview.
Ununda 1864-1871
Willis 1882-1960 Willis, Kansas, is a ghost town in Mission Township of Brown County. Though it showed much promise in its early days, it is a shell of its former self today.

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated November 2023.

Also See:

Brown County, Kansas

Brown County Photo Gallery

Kansas Ghost Towns

Kansas Towns & Cities

Sources:

Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Connelley, William E.; A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, Lewis, Chicago, 1918.Cutler, William G; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Kansas Post Office History