Extinct Towns of Cloud County, Kansas

Hollis, Kansas courtesy Google Maps.

This town was 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. However, that was also brief, as, after just six months, the town’s name was changed again to Hollis 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.

An old business building in Rice, Kansas, courtesy Google Maps.

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.

St. Joseph, Kansas Catholic Church by Kathy Alexander.

St. Joseph was founded in 1873 by its first Catholic pastor, Father Louis-Marie Mollier. Its inhabitants were originally predominately Roman Catholics of French American heritage who migrated from Kankakee, Illinois. A large wooden church was built in 1873 and enlarged in 1880. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1910. That year, the congregation laid the cornerstone for a larger brick structure. The town was never incorporated.

Though little is left of the town today, the beautiful St. Joseph Catholic Church rises above the prairie. The church is no longer consecrated, and the Salina Diocese was going to demolish the building. However, the community came together and formed the Guardians of The St. Joseph Church Foundation, which preserves the church today. At its peak, 800 people worshiped between the two Sunday masses. It is open only by appointment today. It is located about six miles south of Clyde, Kansas, on Noble Road.