Town | Post Office Dates | Additional Information |
Atkinsville | 1871 | The post office was only open for about six months |
Bagley | 1889-1901 | |
Bee | 1881-1887 | Six miles from Havana. |
Bloomfield | None | A short distance northeast of Elk City, it was established in about 1868 but succumbed to Elk City. |
Bolton/Breneman | 1886-1930 | Bolton was laid out in 1886 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Jeff Bolt, rancher. It was a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. In 1910, it had a money order post office and was supplied with telegraph, telephone, and express service. Serving as a shipping and supply point, it had a population of 75 at that time. Today, there are a few houses and a Friends Church remaining. It is located on Highway 75 between Caney and Independence. |
Brickton | 1905 | The post office’s order of change was rescinded. |
Bruno | 1871 | The post office was only open for a little more than five months. |
Claymore | None | Named in honor of the Osage chief, Claymore was laid out in the winter of 1868-69 at the site of Lushbaugh’s trading post by a town company, of which G. L. Canada was chairman and Alexander Duncan secretary. For a time, the town grew rapidly and reached a population of about 100. However, it was short-lived, and by the spring of 1869, it had died out. |
Costello | 1887-1908 | A station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, it was six miles north of Elk City. |
Crane | 1879-1905 | A station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, it was located six miles north of Independence. |
Forest Grove | 1875-1881 | |
Friendlay | 1878-1879 | |
Grass | 1880-1886 | In Rutland Township. |
Harrisonville | 1871-1887 | |
Havana | None | Started in 1869. Callow & Myers opened a general merchandise store and were succeeded in the business by Lines & Caufman. |
Hosford | 1883-1889 | |
Ives | 1882-1884 | |
Jefferson | 1888-1954 |
Located on Fawn Creek, it was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was laid out in 1886 when the railroad was extended to that point and named for Albert Jefferson Broadbent, the original owner of the townsite. In 1910, it had an express office, good local trade, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 100. It still has several homes, including one that was once a schoolhouse built in 1900. |
Larimer/Ritchie | 1887-1905 | The post office moved from Radical City. The name changed from Ritchie to Larimer on February 6, 1890. It was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad five miles north of Independence. In 1910 its population was 50. |
Montgomery | 1869-1871 | Started by R. W. Dunlap at the mouth of Drum Creek and on the Verdigris River, a few miles southeast of Independence, in 1869. |
Morgan | 1870-1872 | Founded by the Morgan brothers in the summer of 1869. It was located about two and a half miles northeast of Independence. |
Novelty | 1876 | The post office was open for less than two months. |
Parker | 1869-1876 1879-1882 1883-1888 |
It was established in the fall of 1869 by H. N. Martin and Colonel D. T. Parker, after whom it was named. |
Perkins | 1890-1893 | |
Radical/Radical City | 1870-1887 1888-1893 |
Founded in 1869 by Colonel Samuel Young and was a country trading point. It was about six miles northwest of Independence. The post office moved to Ritchie. |
Rutland/Atlanta | 1870-1901 | The name changed from Atlanta to Rutland on March 17, 1874. |
Sternerton | 1871-1891 | |
Sunny Side | 1872-1874 | The old Sunny Side school is now at the Little House on the Prairie Museum southwest of Independence, Kansas. |
Talley Springs | 1871-1875 | |
Tipton | None | Tipton was started in 1868, a short distance east of Elk City, to which it was forced to surrender. |
Truman | 1876-1884 | |
Verdigris City | None | Founded by Daniel McTaggart and others in May 1869. It was made the county seat by the appointment of the Governor on June 3, 1869. A log courthouse was built, and the town flourished for a time, but the county seat was taken elsewhere, and the village went down. It was located on the east bank of the Verdigris River, a few miles south of Independence. |
Wayside | 1887-1984 | Was station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Caney Township, 11 miles southwest of Independence. In 1910, it had an express office, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 40. Its old post office is at the Little House on the Prairie museum southwest of Independence. |
Westralia | 1869-1870 | Established by Captain J. C. Crawford and Eli Dennis and was named for the west trail upon which it was located. Early on, it outrivaled nearby Claymore and grew rapidly. It soon had a population of several hundred people and became a prosperous business point. |
White Post | 1872-1874 |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, July 2022.
Also See: