Rural Grant County, Kansas, by Kathy Weiser-Alexander.
Grant County, Kansas Map, 1899.
More Extinct Towns (See Below)
In Grant County’s early years, the county sported more than a dozen towns. Today, there are but three left — Ulysses, Hickok, and Ryus, though the latter two are incorporated and very small.
More Extinct Towns:
| Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
| Appomattox |
1890-1894 | Appomattox, Kansas, an extinct town in Grant County, was located in what is now the northwest portion of Ulysses, Kansas. |
| Athy | 1916-1925 | |
| Conductor | None | Located in 1893. Also known as Conductor City, the town was situated southeast of Ulysses, directly adjacent to the county line. |
| Doby | 1908-1916 | Doby was located on the south fork of the Cimarron River, about four miles above its mouth and 15 miles southeast of Ulysses. |
| Gognac | 1886-1926 | A post office was first established in Hamilton County in 1886, before Grant County was created. It was later in Stanton County before moving to Grant County. The post office was in a general store, and only one other business existed. It was located near the western line of the county, about nine miles southwest of Ulysses on S36-T28S-R39W. |
| Golden | 1886-1889 | |
| Hickok | None | Hickok, Kansas, is a small, unincorporated town located along U.S. Highway 160 in Grant County. It never had a post office. |
| Lawson | 1887-1915 | Lawson, Kansas, was a small settlement that was founded in south-central Grant County in 1886. It is extinct today, as its post office closed decades ago. |
| Liverpool | 1888-1898 1899-1903 |
The post office was initially established in Stanton County. It closed in 1898 and moved to Grant County. The Post office reopened in January 1899 but closed forever in May 1903. |
| Old Ulysses | 1886-1909 | Called Ulysses, Kansas, at the time, this town was established on March 20, 1873. Later, in 1909, the town was moved three miles west due to encumbering debt. Afterward, it was referred to as “Old Ulysses,” and nothing remains of the old townsite today. |
| Ryus | None | Ryus, Kansas, is a very small unincorporated town in Grant County. It never had a post office. |
| Shockey/Laport | 1886-1906 | The old town of Shockey in Grant County, Kansas, was located northwest of Ulysses along Bear Creek. The town is gone today. The settlement was first called Laport, and it was located in Hamilton County before Grant County was created. |
| Spurgeon | 1887-1891 | The tiny town of Spurgeon only had a population of 15. It was located northeast of Ulysses, on S28-T27-R35. |
| Surprise | 1886-1887 | Established in Hamilton County. It was platted in 1885. The post office moved to Tilden in 1887. |
| Tilden | 1887-1890 | The post office moved from Surprise. Name change to Appomattox. |
| Warrendale | 1891-1901 1907-1916 |
A country post office about 15 miles northeast of Ulysses. |
| Waterford | None | Located in southeast Grant County on the border with Stevens County near the Cimarron River, this Irish settlement was established in 1886. It never had a post office. Located on S33-T30S-R35W. |
| Zionville | 1886-1901 |
Athy, Kansas Post Office.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated December 2025.
Also See:
Grant County History and Information
Wagon Bed Spring on the Santa Fe Trail
See Sources.