Oil well derricks in McPherson County, Kansas, 1941.
| Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
| Alpha | 1880-1897 | A country post office on Gypsum Creek in the northeastern part of McPherson County, Alpha was 16 miles southwest of McPherson, the county seat, and seven miles south of Windom, its shipping and banking point. |
| Battle Hill | 1876-1894 | A post office located in McPherson County, Battle Hill was 16 miles from McPherson, the county seat; 28 miles from Salina, the nearest shipping point on the Kansas Pacific Railroad; and 146 miles from Topeka. Small quantities of wheat, corn, and pork were exported. A stagecoach to Salina ran four times per week, carrying the mail to Mary M. Patten, the postmistress. |
| Big Turkey | 1860-1866 | |
| Bloomingdale | 1871-1872 | The post office moved to Roxbury. |
| Bonaville | 1875-1881 | Settled in 1873, Bonaville was located in the northern part of McPherson County, 16 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 22 miles from Salina, the nearest shipping point, and 140 miles from Topeka. Its chief exports were wheat and broom corn. A weekly stagecoach ran to Lindsborg and Marion, carrying the mail to J.M. Itten, the postmaster. In 1878, it had a population of 50. |
| Calmar | 1871-1880 | Calmar was a farming settlement on the Smoky Hill River in the northwest corner of McPherson County, 18 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 12 from Brookville on the Kansas Pacific Railway, the nearest shipping point, and 145 miles from Topeka. A stagecoach to Ellsworth and Marion carried mail four times per week to Bell Parker, the postmaster. In 1878, it had a Methodist Episcopal Church, a public school, a justice of the peace, a constable, and exported grain, broom corn, castor beans, and livestock. |
| Cedar | 1878-1879 | |
| Conway | 1880-1983 |
 ATSF depot in Conway, Kansas. In southwestern Jackson Township, Conway was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. In 1910, it had telegraph and express offices, a money order post office with two rural routes, and a population of 125. Today, it is home to a large underground refined petroleum storage facility that holds approximately 30% of the propane stored in the United States. It is on U.S. Route 56, west of McPherson. |
| Craventon | 1884-1887 | |
| Crooked Creek | 1872-1876 | The post office moved to Christian. |
| Delmore | 1873-1902 | Delmore was a small village settled in 1874 with a population of about 50. It was located on Gypsum Creek. An inland hamlet, it was in the northeastern part of McPherson County on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroads. It was 15 miles from McPherson, the county seat, eight miles north of Galva, and 142 miles from Topeka and Salina, on the Kansas Pacific Railway. The nearest station, 24 miles distant, was on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Principal shipments are grain, livestock, and broom corn. There was a stage in Roxbury, McPherson, Ellsworth, and Marion Centre. Tri-weekly mail. George W. Wyman, postmaster. |
| Dolespark | 1898-1918 | On the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad in 1887. A country post office in Canton Township. It was about four miles from Canton, the most convenient railroad station in 1910. |
| Eden Prairie | 1873-1883 | A hamlet settled in 1865, located on the south branch of Sharp Creek in the western part of McPherson County, 11 miles from McPherson, the county seat. Its shipping went to Salina, on the Kansas Pacific Railway, or to Hutchinson, on the Atchison, Topeka Santa Fe Railway. Grain is the chief product of this section. There was a stagecoach line to Salina, Hutchinson, Ellsworth, and McPherson. John Graham was the postmaster in 1878. |
| Elkhart | 1875-1879 | |
| Elyria | 1887-1954 |
 Elyria Grain Storage. Elyria was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in King City Township. In 1894, it had a Stationery and Notions store, a grocer, a general store, a grain elevator, and a population of 50. In 1910, it had a post office, general stores, an express office, and a population of 100. It is seven miles southeast of McPherson.
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| Empire-Lone Tree | 1872-1888 | Lone Tree was settled in 1871. It was a village located on Turkey Creek, in the central part of McPherson County, 9.5 miles from McPherson, the county seat. 30 miles from Newton, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, its nearest shipping point, and 164 miles from Topeka. In 1878, it had three churches, Congregational, Methodist, and Christian, and a common school. It exported grain, livestock, and country produce. There was also a stagecoach to Newton that delivered the semi-weekly mail to the postmaster, G.E. Foster. At that time, the community had a population of 40, two general stores, and a physician. The town’s name changed from Lone Tree to Empire on August 10, 1880. |
| Farland | 1872-1887 | A post office settlement, it was located in the southern part of McPherson County, 18 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 15 miles from Hutchinson, the nearest railroad station, and 182 miles from Topeka. In 1878, it had a district school, a physician, and shipped farm produce. A stagecoach line from McPherson and Hutchinson delivered the mail tri-weekly to Sarah A. Geer, the postmistress. |
| Farms | 1873-1887 | Farms was a hamlet located on Sand Creek, in the southeastern part of McPherson County, 15 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 18 from Halstead on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the nearest shipping point, and 161 from Topeka. Weekly mail was delivered to J.P. Casper, the postmaster. |
| Fremont-Smoky-Smoky Hill | 1873-1932 |
 Missouri Pacific Depot in Fremont, Kansas, 1919. Fremont, Kansas, was a post office and small farming settlement in the northwestern part of McPherson County, about 15 miles from McPherson, the county seat. This place was first called Smoky Hill when its post office was established on January 3, 1873. On September 27, 1894, the town’s name was changed to Smoky. On January 23, 1895, the town’s name was changed to Fremont. In 1910, it was on a branch line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad about 13 miles northwest of McPherson, the county seat. According to the 1910 census, it had a population of 15. The nearest important town was Lindsborg, about seven miles east. Its post office closed on January 30, 1895. |
| Groveland | 1874-1883 1887-1912 1915-1939 |
Groveland was a post office settlement located in the southern part of McPherson County, eight miles from McPherson, the county seat. In a878, it had a Methodist minister, a physician, and a gunsmith. A stagecoach line from McPherson to Hutchinson delivered the daily mail to John T. Taylor, postmaster. By 1910, it was a station on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, had telegraphic communications, an express office, a post office, and a population of 20.
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| Hyco | 1869-1871 | Hyco was a rural district located on the Smoky Hill River, in the northern part of McPherson County, about 12 miles from McPherson, the county seat. |
| Johnstown | 1883 1885-1904 |
Named for John Johnson, the postmaster. A hamlet with a station on the Salina & McPherson branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. It was six miles south of Lindsborg, the nearest significant town. |
| King City | 1871-1887 | In the spring of 1871, a colony from Ashtabula County, Ohio, settled in the southern part of McPherson County, Kansas, and established King City. |
| Lake View-Lake Village | 1870-1889 | Lake Village began as a post office located in the southern part of McPherson County, 15 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 18 miles from Halstead, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, the nearest shipping point, and 161 miles from Topeka. The name changed from Lake Village to Lake View on June 6, 1872. In 1878, the town exported chiefly agricultural products. As the stagecoach line to McPherson and Newton delivered the mail twice-weekly to A.S. Eastlick, the postmaster. A physician served the community. |
| Lilly | 1874-1879 | Settled in 1873, Lilly was located in the eastern part of McPherson County. In 1878, the village had a population of 40 people, which included numerous farmers, a constable, a justice of the peace, two carpenters, two teachers, a blacksmith, a doctor, a general store, an attorney, and two stone masons. It also contained two churches, Methodist and Baptist, and a common school. It was 13 miles from McPherson, the county seat, and 28 miles from Halstead, the nearest station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Wheat was the neighborhood’s staple crop. A stagecoach line to Ellsworth delivered mail semi-weekly to Gabrella Wood, postmistress. |
| Little River | 1875-1877 | |
| Little Valley | 1873-1888 | |
| Lookout | 1879-1880 | |
| Monitor | 1874-1902 | The post office of a farming community, which settled here in 1873, was located in the southwestern part of McPherson County, 11 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 18 from Hutchinson, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, its nearest shipping point, and 127 miles by wagon road or 185 by rail from Topeka. The district school also served as a Congregational church. Its principal exports were grain and livestock. Mail was delivered four times per week to M.S. Buckman, postmaster. |
| New Gottland
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1872-1883
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 Parsonage in New Gottland, Kansas, 1895. A post office was established in 1872, in the central part of McPherson County, 6.5 miles from McPherson, the county seat. It contained a Swedish Lutheran Church and a district school. Salina, on the Kansas Pacific Railway, was the nearest station, from which broom corn and grain were shipped. A stagecoach line to Salina and Newton delivered the mail daily to John Almyren, the postmaster. |
| Sharpscreek-Sharp’s Creek | 1872-1899 | Sharp’s Creek was in Union Township, in the northwest quarter of McPherson County, about 30 miles north of Burton, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The name changed from Sharp’s Creek to Sharpscreek on October 15, 1894. |
| Schley | 1898-1902 | |
| Sparta | 1874-1902 | A post office in the southern part of McPherson County, in Turkey Creek Township, Sparta was 12 miles from McPherson, the county seat, and about the same distance from Burrton, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, its nearest shipping point. Mail was delivered semi-weekly to Emily A. Prior, postmistress. |
| Spring Valley | 1872-1902 | Settled in 1871, Spring Valley was a small village located on Emmet Creek, in the southeastern part of McPherson County, 18 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 20 from Newton, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, the nearest station, and 154 miles from Topeka. Grain was its chief product. Its weekly mail was delivered to P.J. Schermerhorn, its postmaster. In 1878, it had a blacksmith, a Methodist organization, a physician, a general store, and a population of 30. |
| Sweadal | 1869-1872 |
 Courthouse in Sweadal, Kansas, 1908. The first McPherson County seat, Sweadal, was in Union Township, in the northwestern part of the county. L.N. Holmburg, the first storekeeper, served as postmaster. It was about 15 miles south of Salina, a station on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. |
| Wakeman | 1894-1899 | |
| Westfield | 1874-1888 | In McPherson Township, in the county of the same name, Westfield was eight miles from the county seat. Hutchinson, the most convenient railroad point, was 25 miles distant. In 2878, the mail was delivered twice per week by horseback to C.O. Spencer, postmaster. |
| Wheatland-Bachelor | 1874-1896 | This town was first called Bachelor when a post office was established on February 25, 18754. It was in the western part of McPherson County, 11 miles from McPherson, the county seat, 23 miles from Hutchinson, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, the nearest station, and 190 by rail from Topeka. Farm products were its chief product. The town’s name was changed to Sheatland on January 24, 1876. In 1878, its mail was delivered to James Tudhope, postmaster, four times per week. Its post office closed on April 30, 1896. |
| Winnesheik | 1874-1902 | A postoffice in the eastern central part of McPherson County, Winnesheik was ten miles from McPherson, the county seat, and midway between Salina, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and Newton, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, to either of which goods should be shipped. Its exports were principally wheat, broom corn, and livestock. In 1878, the mail was delivered semi-weekly on Tuesday and Saturday to E.A. Ellingsom, postmaster. |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated March 2026.
Also See:
McPherson County Photo Gallery
The Santa Fe Trail Across Kansas
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Cutler, William G.; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
Kansas Post Office History
Polk’s 1878 Kansas Gazetteer and Business Directory.
Polk’s 1894 Kansas Gazetteer and Business Directory
Wikipedia