Extinct Towns of Greenwood County, Kansas

Teter Rock

Teterville was an oil town in Greenwood County, approximately 11 miles east of Cassoday. It was founded as an “oil town” sometime after the Teeter Oil Field was discovered around 1920. The oil field was named in honor of James Teter, who owned about 6,900 acres of land. A post office was opened in Teterville in 1927, and after the Teter Oil Fields played out, the town faded away. Its post office was discontinued in 1962. No buildings remain in this former community, but Teter Rock marks the spot.

Long before the town was established, James Wesley Teter owned this land in the 1880s. Here, he erected a pile of local rocks at a high point on his land as a guidepost for homesteaders searching for the Cottonwood River. At that time, homesteaders passing through the area en route to their claims on the Cottonwood often became lost in the area’s rolling hills.

As the neighborhood of Teterville grew, the rocks were used to construct several buildings, and the Teter marker disappeared. In 1854, the Greenwood County Historical Society reconstructed Teter Rock to replace the earlier landmark in honor of Mr. Teter.  The16 foot-upended limestone monolith juts unexpectedly into the endless blue sky of the Flint Hills. Located at the crest of the highest hill in the area, it’s visible for miles in all directions. It is located 0.9 miles south of Teterhill Road on top of a hill. It is accessible by the public using a rural road on private land, so please respect the property.