Extinct Towns in Lyon County, Kansas

Wiggam, Kansas Railroad Sign by H. Killam, 1950s.

Wiggam, Kansas Railroad Sign by H. Killam, 1950s.

Agnes City

Columbia – A Ghost Town Story

Plymouth

More Extinct Towns:

Town Post Office Dates Additional Information
Air 1880-1900 Air was located 3.5 miles north and 1.5 west of Miller.
Badger Creek 1873-1896 Badger Creek was southwest of Reading and two miles east of Lang.
Chicago Mound None
Chicago Mound Cemetery, Lyon County, Kansas.

Chicago Mound Cemetery

Chicago Mound was a small town that was located five miles southeast of Emporia. There was a church here, but it was gone by 1915. All that remains is the cemetery.

Cross 1870-1871
Decora 1859-1862 Also spelled Decorrah.
Dell 1881-1883
1885-1890
Dell was 3.5 miles east and 3.5 miles north of Americus.
Dow Creek 1873-1874 Dow Creek was ten miles west and one mile north of Reading.
Eads 1878-1884
Eagle Creek 1870-1873
Elco 1885-1903 Elco was a small settlement in the southwestern corner of Lyon County. it was eight miles from Olpe, the nearest railroad station, where it received its mail after the post office closed.
Elmendaro 1860-1870 Also spelled Elmandaro.
Ewing 1883-1887
Forest Hill 1858-1871 Forest Hill was established in 1858 on a hill that was not forested. However, Timothy McIntire, one of the town’s promoters declared that it was a fine location for a forest. The townsite was located eight miles east of Emporia on Sixth Avenue. All that remains is a stone building on a private farm.
Foster Springs 1878-1879 Foster Springs was southeast of Bushong.
Fourmile 1900-1901
Fouse 1890-1895
Fremont 1860-1867
1870-1873
1876-1878
Fremont was laid out in April 1858 by Dr. Thomas Armor, S.G. Elliott, and W.B. Swisher. Before long it was a thriving village of 25-30 houses, with stores, a post office, and a blacksmith shop. Early on, it had aspirations to become the county seat. The first of the country schools opened when Fremont, north of Emporia, completed the legal organization of their school as District #3 in the spring of 1862. When its aspiration to become the county seat failed, the town dwindled. Even after the village of Fremont withered, the school continued for many years. Fremont was three miles east and two miles south of Americus. Today the old townsite is on a farm.
Harrisburgh 1870-1871
Ivy/Bunker Hill 1870
1871-1896
The post office in Bunker Hill was only open for four months in 1870. It was reopened in 1871 and renamed Ivy. The post office closed in 1896. The settlement was located three miles east and one mile south of Admire.
Lang/Hortonburg 1882-1900
1900-1905
1919-1924
This community, first known as Hortonburg was established in 1882. In 1900, it was officially changed to Lang. The town must have been struggling because its post office closed in 1905. In 1910 Lang was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. At that time, it had telegraph and express offices, a general store, and a population of 25. Its post office reopened in 1919 but closed its doors for the final time in 1924. It was located nine miles northeast of Emporia.
Lena Valley 1872-1887 Established in Greenwood County. Site loved to Lyon County.
Magda 1890-1904 Magda was an inland hamlet of Lyon County, located nine miles south of Plymouth. In 1910, it was on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.
Menda 1900-1901 Menda was a small hamlet in the southeastern part of Lyon County, seven miles from Hartford, the nearest railroad station.
Patty’s Mill 1870-1871
Plumb 1878-1896
Rock Creek 1870-1871
Stotler 1880-1900 Stotler was a rural community northeast of Miller. It was named for Jacob Stotler of Emporia who was helpful in establishing the post office. The post office was located in private homes and was discontinued when rural routes were commenced from Osage City.
Trail 1882-1887 Trail was located one mile north and three miles west of Allen.
Verdigris 1881-1903
Waterloo 1858-1874 By February 17, 1857, Lyon County was fully organized and detached from Madison County, with the temporary county seat located at Waterloo. William Mickel built the Waterloo Inn on the Burlingame Road, on the Sac & Fox Reservation line. On June 30, 1858, a post office was established with Mickel appointed as postmaster. In the fall of 1858, Americus was voted by the people to become the county seat. However, Mickel continued to run the post office and the Waterloo Inn. It was a popular stopping place for travelers on the Lawrence and Emporia Road, though it never consisted of not more than half a dozen houses. When the post office closed the Waterloo Inn continued operations. After 90 years of occupancy, it was finally abandoned in 1948. In 1970 the Waterloo Inn building was still standing, but it collapsed by the late 1970s. Waterloo was located southwest of Miller, on the Burlingame Road, just northeast of 142-Mile Creek.
Waushara 1858-1862
1863-1895
Waushara was located on the Santa Fe Trail, five miles west of the Lyon/Osage County line, and 3/4 mile south of the Lyon/Wabaunsee County line.
Wiggam None Wiggam was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. It was located five miles east of Emporia, from which it received mail by rural route.
Wyckoff 1885-1902

© Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated June 2022.

Also See:

Kansas Destinations

Kansas Ghost Towns

Lyon County, Kansas

Lyon County Photo Gallery

Sources:

French, Laura M.; History of Emporia and Lyon County, Kansas, 2009.
Kansas Memory
Kansas State Historical Society
Lyon County Museum