Mahaska, Kansas

Mahaska, Kansas, is a tiny town located one mile south of the Nebraska state line in Union Township of Washington County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46, and its total area was 0.25 square miles, all of it land.

When the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska in 1854, the land had to be surveyed before settlements could be established. At this time, the area consisted of rolling plains sparsely dotted with native shrubs and trees covered with prairie grasses. In May 1855, Charles A. Manner surveyed the land west of the Missouri River at the Sixth Principal Meridian, or 40th Parallel, one-mile northwest of where Mahaska would later be settled.

Marked initially in 1856, this site was the beginning point from which more than 200 million miles of land were surveyed in Kansas, Nebraska, three-fourths of Colorado, most of Wyoming, and part of South Dakota. The survey allowed settlers to buy land, file a claim, and make the rolling plains of north central Kansas their home. The original marker was rediscovered in 1976, and a new monument was dedicated in 1987. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1987. It symbolizes the frontier mindset of Americans during the era of Westward Expansion.

In 1865, Burchen Beeson and his wife, Eliza, were the first settlers of present-day Mahaska. Since they lacked lumber and materials to build a house, they first built a dugout near a creek bed. As they cultivated the land, the rich soil produced abundant crop harvests. In 1875, the Beeson family built a log cabin.

More residents settled on this land rapidly, and in 1872, Union Township was formed. Early settlers met Indians while riding around the prairies in the area. While friendly, when the settlers would transfer grain to the grain mill in Reynolds, Nebraska, there were instances of Indians taking some of the grain. Horse thieves, known as “bloodhounds,” were also common, traveling back and forth across state lines to avoid being caught.

In the 1870s, multi-car “immigrant trains” brought families through north-central Kansas.

Because of the vast richness of the soil and subsequent agricultural success, the population of Union Township grew rapidly over the next decade, from 211 in 1874 to 535 in 1880.

Before the townsite was officially laid out, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was built from Jansen, Nebraska, through the Mahaska area to Belleville, Kansas, and the west. A depot was built on the line passing through Union Township to accommodate potential settlers moving westward.

Mahaska was founded in 1887 by L. Bonham. On October 5, 1887, Isaiah and Dollie Bonham signed a document indicating the townsite plans for this community, including depot grounds, blocks and lots, streets, and alleys. The town was first named Bonham after these founders. That year, the townsite was laid out. The first house was built by William Newton, and one of the first businesses was the livery stable owned by Dick Westkirk. E.A. Woodman’s lumber and coal business was also established that year.

When the Bonham post office registered with the post office department, the name was rejected because there was another town named Bonham in the state. Soon, several men gathered at the Speers’ Store to decide on a new name. When E.A. Woodman saw a bag of Mahaska coffee on the store shelf, he said, “Why not call our post office, Mahaska? We had a Mahaska County in Iowa where I came from.” The motion passed unanimously, and the post office was renamed Mahaska. The name “Mahaska” referred to an Indian chief of the Iowa Indians. Chief Mahaska was known to be a good chief, and his people loved him. The post office was established on December 22, 1887.

From the early 1880s to the mid-1890s, Mahaska experienced tremendous growth for two primary reasons. First, the addition of the depot in 1887 allowed potential settlers access to this new community. Second, fertile soil and the success of the wheat and corn crops attracted settlers traveling westward.

Due to abundant rainfall, the area experienced a bountiful corn harvest between 1889 and 1891. During these plentiful harvest years, three grain elevators were built on the railroad sidings, one west and two east of the depot. E.A. Moorhead’s general store opened in 1890.

To accommodate the many visitors traveling westward, Colonel G.E. Stowe built a two-story hotel on the west side of Main Street in 1891.

In the 1890s, drought, the Panic of 1893, and the ensuing depression exacted a toll. C.H. Coonrod’s hardware store was established in 1893, and A.M. Allredge’s mercantile business in 1894.

Between 1895 and 1905, Mahaska saw little growth. This changed around 1905, as several farmers who succeeded in agriculture made Mahaska their retirement place. As the town’s population grew, the town’s first newspaper, the Mahaska Leader, was issued weekly in 1905.

A two-room schoolhouse was built in 1907. Before that time, school was held in the Presbyterian Church. Mahaska introduced the first two years of high school in 1908 and 1909.

On July 8, 1909, the town was officially incorporated. The residents elected John Deegen as the first mayor, P.J. Christenson as the Police Judge, and I.C. Upton, C.H. Coonrod, M.A. Hatch, A. Allredge, and W.G. Arnold as the town councilman. The newly elected officials wasted no time making decisions to improve the town.

In 1910, Mahaska was an incorporated city of the third class on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a bank, telegraph, express offices, and a money order post office with two rural routes. Its population peaked at 246. That year, the town voted to construct sidewalks. Mahaska was the principal trading and shipping point for a large Republic and Washington Counties agricultural district.

A new jail was constructed in 1912.

Two cisterns were installed on Main Street in 1914 to accommodate the need for a water supply.

The final two years of high school were introduced in 1916 and 1917.

In 1917, land for the city park was purchased on Main Street, one-half block south of the east and west highway. In many ways, the city park became the center of the community, providing an open space for families to take their children to play or to hold community events.

Modern utilities allowed businesses to accommodate the community’s needs and provided families with the comforts of a contemporary city. In 1922, a contract with the Electric Development Company allowed electric service to Mahaska. In 1925, the city well for water was drilled on Main Street, and a pump was installed so that residents and visitors could enjoy a cool drink of water.

A Rural High School District was formed in 1926, and bonds provided the funds to complete a new school building in 1927. The two-story, brick-veneered, reinforced concrete frame school building with a flat roof was designed with a Collegiate Gothic Revival influence and limestone details.

In the fall of 1931, the Kansas Pipe Line and Gas Company installed a distributing system in Mahaska so residents could receive natural gas. Mahaska continued to develop during these decades.

In the 1930s, when cars became a staple in American culture, the roads into and out of Mahaska needed to be upgraded. In 1934, the newly graveled highway through Mahaska to K15 east of the town became the first all-weather outlet to the Kansas Highway system. In addition, a standard grade was built between Mahaska and Highway 36 the same year.

One of the most important upgrades for the residents of Mahaska was constructing the Mahaska water tower. In 1940, two water wells were drilled in the city park, and soon after, a modern water system and a water tower were installed. The water tower was officially dedicated with music by the Mahaska Band and a fireworks show.

The school remained viable as an independent four-year high school until about 1955, when the dwindling population closed some of the local rural elementary schools, causing their students to be bused to Mahaska. Some elementary classes were blended into the school in the 1955-1956 academic year.

The town’s population fell to just 200 residents in 1957, and the decline had a significant impact on the community.

In 1966, the final passenger train canceled its stop in Mashaska. That year, the last high school class graduated, and the building was changed to a middle school by creating the Unified School District 221 with nearby Haddam and Morrowville. High School and kindergarten students were bused to Haddam. However, elementary classes, including Kindergarten, were added the next year.

The Rock Island Depot in Mahaska was closed in 1969, as all business was shifted through the Belleville agent.

For over 67 years, from 1904 to 1971, the Mahaska Telephone Company provided services to its residents. Five or six others were likely on the party line when residents wanted to use the phone. To distinguish callers, everyone in the community had a different ring. The JB&N Telephone Company of Kansas purchased the Mahaska Telephone Company in 1971, and the town switched to direct dialing telephones.

The middle school classes were discontinued in 1972, and the remaining grade school classes continued to use the building until 1974. The building was converted into a library and community center in 1975 but closed in 1989 and remained vacant until 2008.

In March 1977, the new community center, financed by a $160,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was opened to the public.

In 1978, Mahaska had only 140 residents.

In 1983, a new water system was installed with a $264,850 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mahaska celebrated its 100th anniversary with a jubilee on July 3-5, 1987. The weather was ideal for the occasion and helped to attract several hundred people. A parade highlighted the celebration, people dressed in costumes from the late 1880s, and a beard contest to highlight the period’s fashion. The centennial celebration concluded with an ice cream social and a fireworks display.

The old Mahaska High School, at the intersection of School Street and Henry Street, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 2007 as part of the “Historic Public Schools of Kansas” multiple property submission. The building was redeveloped into housing and became a multi-dwelling facility. It is vacant today.

Washington County’s USD 108 public school district in Washington, Kansas, serves the community. Mahaska’s post office remains open today.

Mahaska is located approximately ten miles north of US Hwy 36 via county roads and 20 miles northwest of Washington, the county seat.

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.

Also See:

Everyplace in Kansas

Extinct Towns of Washington County

Washington County, Kansas

Washington County Photo Gallery

Sources:

Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Kansas Historic Resources Inventory
Mahaska, Kansas: The First 100 Years; Blake Berryhill Sociology 823, Kansas State University, 2012.
Washington County, Kansas
Wikipedia