Extinct Towns of Cloud County, Kansas

A farm near the old town of St. Joseph, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.

A farm near the old town of St. Joseph, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.

Extinct Towns:

Camp Concordia

Minersville

St. Joseph

More Extinct Towns:

Town Post Office Dates Additional Information
Alva 1871-1878 The post office moved to Jamestown.
Arion 1870-1872
1875-1883
Beaver Creek 1871-1877
Carmel 1873-1886
1887-1894
Camp Concordia None
Guard tower at Camp Concordia, courtesy Wikipedia.

Guard tower at Camp Concordia

Camp Concordia was a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Cloud County, Kansas. It operated from 1943 to 1945 during World War II.

Cloud 1881 The post office was only open from May to December 1881.
Como 1900-1904 Como was located about 7.5 miles east of Aurora.
Cool 1881-1887
Fannie  1870-1878 A rural post office on the Smoky Hill River in Empire Township, about 12 miles southeast of Ellsworth.
Garley/Wild Rover/Garly 1873-1876
1876-1881
The Garly post office opened on June 3, 1873, and moved to Wild Rover on February 1, 1876. on August 4, 1876, the post office name was changed to Garley.  The post office closed for good on January 15, 1881.
Gillespie 1879-1883 Gillespie was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.
Graves  1882-1889
1890-1904
Graves was a small town located in the central part of Cloud County, about ten miles south of Concordia.
Green Cove 1879-1881
Half Way/Cransdale 1872-1877
1877-1900
 The town’s name was changed from Cransdale to Half Way on April 11, 1877.
 Heber 1881-1904 Heber, situated near the head of East Pipe Creek, was about 15 miles southeast of Concordia. After its post office closed, mail was received through the post office at Miltonvale.
Huscher 1892-1914
1915-1934
Huscher, located in Nelson Township, was six miles southeast of Concordia. It was named for David Huscher, the postmaster. It had a station on the  Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and was connected to Concordia by telephone in the early 1900s. By 1910, it had a local trade, did some shipping, and was called home to about 50 people.
Hollis-Sunday-Christie 1885-1960
Hollis, Kansas courtesy Google Maps.

Hollis, Kansas

This town was first called Christie for W.J. Christie, the original owner of the townsite. However, when the community received a post office, its name was changed to Sunday. That was also brief, as, after just six months, the town’s name was changed again to Hollis for a pioneer family on August 27, 1885. By 1910, it was a shipping point at the junction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and Union Pacific Railroads. At that time, it had a money order post office with one rural route, a telegraph office, a good local trade, and a population of 50. In May 1909, a tornado hit Hollis, which caused serious damage and killed several people. Only three buildings escaped damage. The community still displays several homes, silos, and one old business building. Area students attend school in Concordia.

Key 1878-1881
Lawrenceburg/Salt Creek 1868-1869
1869-1901
The post office name changed from Salt Creek to Lawrenceburg on January 15, 1869. It was named for L.D. or Frank Lawrence, Cloud County pioneers.
Macyville/Ten Mile 1871-1879
1879-1905
The town’s name changed from Ten Mile to Macyville on August 22, 1879. Named for George W. Macy, the postmaster. It was located in Summit Township, nine miles southwest of Concordia and about 11 miles northeast of Glasco. The population in 1910 was 62.
Malta 1875-1884
Meredith 1871-1910 Meredith was a small town in Cloud County, about 15 miles south of Concordia and eight miles from Delphos, the nearest shipping point and the post office from which its mail is distributed. The population in 1910 was 78.
Minersville 1877-1899
Nelson 1873-1888
Oneonta 1890-1894
Princeville 1871-1882
Red Stone 1869-1887 Red Stone was situated on the Central Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Rice 1878-1980
An old business building in Rice, Kansas, courtesy Google Maps.

An old business building in Rice, Kansas

Rice is located in Lawrence Township, six miles east of Concordia. In 1910, it was situated on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, had a money order post office with one rural route, some local trade, and a population of 89. Its close proximity to the larger trading center of Concordia inhibited its growth. Today, it continues to have a small population, homes, grain silos, and an old business building. A stone arch bridge, built in 1899 and restored in 1990, can be seen just north of Rice. Students in the area attend school in nearby Concordia.

Sibley 1868-1876 Sibley was founded in 1869 and named for Lake Sibley. Both were named for a career soldier named Henry Hopkins Sibley. It was once in the running for the county seat but lost in an 1870 run-off election against Concordia. The lake dried up, the town of Concordia grew up nearby, attracting more settlers, and the
population of Sibley drifted away. The area is now abandoned, and the land is privately owned and used for farming.
St. Joseph 1878-1882
1885-1901
St. Joseph, Kansas Catholic Church by Kathy Alexander.

St. Joseph  Catholic Church

St. Joseph was founded in 1873 by its first Catholic pastor, Father Louis-Marie Mollier. Though little is left of the town today, the beautiful St. Joseph Catholic Church rises above the prairie.

Sulphur Spring  1875-1895
Warren 1871-1886
Welcome 1884-1885
Yuma 1880-1881
1882-1888
1889-1900
Yuma was located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad five miles west of Concordia, near the intersections of K-28 and County Road 777. A historical marker remains where the town once stood, populated from 1878 until the 1930s.
Zahnville 1873-1882 The post office moved to Miltonvale.

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated March 2024.

Cloud County, Kansas by L.H. Everts & Co., 1887.

Cloud County, Kansas by L.H. Everts & Co., 1887.

Also See:

Cloud County, Kansas

Cloud County Photo Gallery

Extinct Towns of Cloud County

Kansas Ghost Towns

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 Historical Society
Kansapedia
Kansas Travel