Old grain Elevator in the old town of Lindsey, Kansas, courtesy of Google Maps.
Lindsey, Kansas, was an unincorporated community located in Concord Township, in the central part of Ottawa County. Today, it is an extinct town because its post office closed decades ago.
First called Ayersburgh, this place was settled in 1864, shortly after Fort Solomon was constructed, approximately half a mile west of the Lindsey townsite. It was named for Seymour Ayers, the first settler, who built a log house measuring about 16 feet by 16 feet at the conjunction of the Solomon River and Lindsey Creek. He entered the mercantile business, using his small room as both a dwelling and a store. When a post office was established on July 16, 1864, it was also held in Ayers’ store.
The mail was carried on horseback from Solomon to Ayersburgh. The post office consisted of a dry-goods box nailed to the wall between the bed and the door, with Mrs. Ayers acting as postmistress.
In July 1866, Ottawa County was organized, and Governor Samuel Crawford designated Ayersburg as the county seat until the people selected a permanent location. Equally distant from the exact center of the county, Minneapolis and Ayersburgh were candidates for county seat honors. In the fall of 1866, the vote resulted in favor of Minneapolis.
By the late 1860s, the use of Fort Solomon was coming to an end, as tensions between the white settlers and the Indians had largely subsided.
The town’s name was changed from Ayersburgh to Lindsey on July 7, 1868. It was named after Lindsey Creek, located approximately one mile to the north. Lindsey Creek was named after a trapper named Lindsey, who had trapped in the area since 1857.
In 1878, Lindsey had a blacksmith, a doctor, a Lutheran minister, and the Lindsey House hotel. At that time, the Southwestern Stage Company ran between here and Beloit and Solomon, from which daily mail was delivered to M.G. Best, the postmaster. Its nearest shipping point was Solomon City, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, 25 miles distant, from which it exported wheat, corn, and pork.
By 1910, Lindsey was a station on the Union Pacific Railroad, featuring express and telegraph offices, a money order post office, and served as a shipping point for agricultural products and livestock, with a population of 28. It was two miles from Minneapolis, the county seat, and 130 miles from Topeka.
In the following decades, Lindsey declined, and its post office closed on June 30, 1942.
Lindsey is a ghost town today, with only an old grain elevator near the railroad, a few residences, and no businesses. North 135th Road runs through the community.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated June 2025.
Also See:
Extinct Towns of Ottawa County
Sources:
1878 Gazetteer and Business Directory
Cutler, William G.; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Wikipedia