Dickinson County, Kansas Extinct Towns

Buckeye, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.

Located in Buckeye Township, Buckeye was about eight miles north of Abilene. Universalist preacher Vear P. Wilson of Ohio started it as a colony/settlement. The group arrived in April 1870. Like many small towns in those days, a cheese factory was a main staple, as was a general merchandise store and a blacksmith shop. The colony soon had nearly 200 settlers, and the Buckeye Community Church of the Brethren was established in 1884. A post office was established on March 16, 1900. However, it lasted only a few years and was closed on February 29, 1904. The town’s population in 1910 was 40. Though continually dwindling in the next years, the church held periodic services until July 2024. Several homes are still in the area, and the town boasts an old business building, the church and a cemetery, and the Mutual Aid Agency continues to thrive. It is located at 3101 Jeep Road, about nine miles northeast of Abilene.

Grain Elevators in Dillon, Kansas.

Named for the Dillon brothers, pioneers. It was located on Turkey Creek, in the southern part of the county. In 1878, it had a wagonmaker, a general store, a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a district school, Presbyterian and German Baptist congregations, and a population of 35. At that time, it shipped grain and hogs from Abilene, the most convenient railroad. It was on the stagecoach station to Abilene and Marion, from which its mail was delivered semi-weekly to A.L. Evers, the postmaster. Later, it was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and the railroad’s name was Swayne Station. In 1910, it had a money order post office with one rural route, a creamery, a flour mill, some well-stocked general stores, express and telegraph service, telephone connections, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, a good public school building, and a population of 161. It is located off Highway 4, east of Elmo. All that remains today is the grain elevator, which is still in operation today. 

Old business building in Industry, Kansas.

Old business building in Industry, Kansas.

Settled in 1874, Industry straddles the Clay/Dickinson county line at the Chapman Creek crossing. The post office moved from Lovejoy and opened on February 21, 1876. In 1878, the settlement had a druggist, a grist mill, a wagonmaker, a general store, a district school, and a population of 40. At that time, it shipped grain, flour, and livestock from the railroad in Wakefield, 11 miles distant. Its mail was delivered semi-weekly to H. Rieck, the postmaster.

In the fall of 1879, A. L. Beard, an Eastern speculator, laid out the town in Athelstone Township. In the early 1880s, it had a few business houses and a small hotel. It was not destined to grow, as it was 16 miles from the railroad. The post office closed on November 30, 1906. In 1910, it still had several business establishments, including two flour mills and a population of 250. In the following decades, the population fell, and the post office was never reopened. Several vacant business buildings remain today, and numerous homes are occupied in the community. Amazingly, a small town without a post office for more than a century continues to be called home to numerous residents and has an active Methodist Church. It is located approximately 13 miles north of Abilene.