Devon, Kansas Main Street by Kathy Alexander.
Devon, Kansas, is an unincorporated community in Bourbon County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 71. Technically, Devon is also an extinct town as its post office is long closed.
Devon was founded in 1860 and was first named Mill Creek for a nearby little creek. A post office was established on February 26, 1889, with Wiley Bolinger as postmaster. However, just months later, the town was moved from its initial site to be near the railroad. At that time, the town was renamed Devlon for Devon, England, and the post office name was formally changed on September 9, 1989.
In 1910, Devon was located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, had a money order post office with one rural route, telegraph and express offices, and had a population of 200. It was the supply town for an affluent district and a considerable shipping point for produce.
In the following decades, the small town’s population declined, and its post office closed on September 9, 1989, after more than a century of operation.
In addition to its small population, the town still has a fire department and several homes. Its former Methodist Church is closed today, and several other long-closed business buildings remain.
The community is served by Fort Scott USD 234 public school district.
Devon is located ten miles northwest of Fort Scott.
An old business building in Devon, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.
An old business building in Devon, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, May 2024.
Old Methodist Church in Devon, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Also See:
Extinct Towns in Bourbon County.
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Fort Scott Tribune, July 1976
Wikipedia