Main Street in Formoso, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Formoso, Kansas, is a small town in Jewell County As of the 2020 census, its population was 94, and the city had a total area of 0.28 square miles, all of it land.
Post office in Formoso, Kansas.
The town started when the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad bypassed the neighboring town of Omio. On October 19, 1887, the Formoso Town Company purchased the land for $10,000. Captain Alfred Balch, a Civil War veteran, spearheaded the effort. Formoso was platted on November 10, 1887, and a post office was established on December 17, 1887.
The Formoso Town Company offered discounted lots to businesses and homeowners moving from Omio. Several merchants decided to move their businesses to Formososo. Rock buildings from Omio were taken apart and moved brick by brick, while others were put on skids and hauled by teams of horses.
This included O.J. Quy’s hardware store, whose limestone building was separated block by block. After the blocks were numbered, they were hauled to Formoso, and the building was reconstructed at Main and Patterson Streets. He received a 75% discount on the purchase of his lot, paying only $50 for it. A street was named after him as he was involved with those platting the town. Quy Street runs east and west across the south side of Formoso.
Because the town was located next to the railroad, it flourished and became the perfect location for a trade center.
Formosa’s population peaked in the late 1800s at 495. Afterward, its population gradually declined.
Formoso, Kansas Mercantile
Quy’s hardware store was sold to Peter Ramsey in March 1901. Afterward, it was used as a cafe, owned and leased by many people over the years.
The Formosa Mercantile opened for business in October 1901. At the time, the largest store in Jewell County was constructed of native rock with a 50-foot plate glass frontage. An acetylene gas system was installed to fire the furnace and illuminate the store. There was an elevator and a stone vault for housing valuables.
Large school building in Formoso, Kansas.
In 1909, a two-and-a-half-story high school and elementary school were built.
In 1910, the town was still on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had banking facilities, a weekly newspaper called the New Era, telegraph and express offices, an international money order post office with three rural routes, and a population of 475.
Unfortunately, the Formoso School was destroyed by fire on April 19, 1960. By that time, it had graduated 536 students
Afterward, Formoso schools were closed through school unification. Today, the community is served by Rock Hills USD 107 public school district in Mankato, Kansas.
In 1971, the City of Formoso owned the old hardware store, which was then used as the Formoso Fire Department. Today, it houses the Formoso Water Department.
Formoso is 12 miles east of Mankato, the county seat, and miles from Courtland.
Business buildings in Formoso, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Community Church in Formoso, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, November 2024.
Also See:
O.J. Quy’s hardware store once stood in Omio before it was moved to Formosa. Today, the building is utilized by the Water Department. Photo by Kathy Alexander.
Sources:
Blackmar, William; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Standard Publishing Co., Chicago, IL,1912.
Formosa Facebook
Lovewell History
Wikipedia