Early day Reager, Kansas.
Reager, Kansas, is an extinct town in Norton County. There is very little left today, but a couple of buildings and some silos.
Located on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, the town was named after W.W. Reager, who homesteaded the land just south of the townsite in 1882. The first church services were held in Reager’s sod house. Charles Orr built another sod house on the land, later owned by Mr. Keener, and William Hicks built a soddie on the land owned by Mrs. A.L. Hicks. A Methodist Church called Reager’s Chapel was built in 1898, with J.R. Thompson of Norton serving as the first pastor. A grain elevator was built in 1914 by Henry Westerman.
At one time, Reager had an elevator, a general store, a Methodist Church, and stockyards. It became a large trade center for the area, and much stock was shipped out from this little village. Originally from Missouri, J.B. Shepherd came to Norton County in 1887 with his father, David Shepherd. He was elected county treasurer on the Democrat ticket in 1912 and served until 1916.
A post office was established on May 18, 1916, in J.B. Shepherd’s store, where he served as postmaster. At one time, he also managed the grain elevator. The post office closed on September 29, 1923.
Today, the area is served by the Oberlin USD 294 public school district. It was six miles from Oronoque and the same distance from Norcatur.
Old buildings and silos in Reager, Kansas, today, courtesy Google Maps.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Also See:
Sources:
1884-1885 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R.L. Polk & Co., Chicago, IL.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Kansas Post Office History
Norton County Genealogical Society