Rose, Kansas buildings by Kathy Alexander.
Rose, Kansas, is a ghost town in Eminence Township in the southern part of Woodson County.
School District No. 17 was organized in 1867 before the town existed.
An old barn in Rose, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
When the post office opened on June 10, 1870, it was established in the home of George Trimble. Rose was named after the first postmaster’s daughter when a town sprung up near this post office. The town developed with the hay business that began shipping on the railroad. A depot and loading siding were built, called the Rose siding.
As the town grew, the school moved several times to be closer to the children.
In 1885, Rose had two blacksmiths, two carpenters, and a population of 50. It was on the tri-weekly stagecoach line to Humboldt and Yates Center, from which the mail was delivered to Mrs. N.A. Trimble, the postmaster. Its nearest bank location and shipping point was in Yates Center, nine miles distant.
The post office closed on November 3, 1886. However, it reopened on August 31, 1887.
During the 1890s and several years after the turn of the century, Rose was a significant prairie hay shipping hub. There were several large hay barns in and around the town. Its population increased dramatically during the hay season. More native prairie hay was baled and shipped out of Rose Station than anywhere in the world.
By 1900, Rose was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a store, a blacksmith shop, a church, a large hay market, and a population of less than 100. However, its importance as a trading and shipping point was second to none of its size in the state. The Dumond Brothers and William M. Patterson were the leading shippers of the place.
Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot in Rose, Kansas by H. Killam, 1955.
Missouri Pacific Railroad sign board in Rose, Kansas by H. Killam, 1962.
By 1910, Rose had telegraph and express offices, a money order post office with two rural routes, and a population of 50. It was a shipping and supply center for a large agricultural district.
In 1937, the frame schoolhouse in town was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. It was replaced that same year by a new brick schoolhouse. The last school term was 1959-60, and the school building was sold to an individual for a private home.
The post office closed on April 30, 1960.
A home in Rose, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
The last carload of prairie hay shipped out of Rose was in December 1972 for the Cantrell Hay Company. It was shipped to a hay and grain company in Florida for horse feed at the racetracks.
A few homes and the old school remain in Rose, and it still has an active railroad. The old Pleasant Valley School and cemetery are about two miles southwest of Rose.
Rose is about eight miles southeast of Yates Center, the county seat.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Also See:
Old School in Rose, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander.
Sources:
1884-1885 State Gazetteer and Business Directory, R. L. Polk & Co., Chicago, IL.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing.
Duncan, L. Wallace and Scott, Charles F.; History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas; Iola Register, Printers, and Binders, Iola, KS., 1901.
Revitalize Yates Center