Selkirk, Kansas by Kathy Alexander.
Missouri Pacific Railroad depot in Selkirk, Kansas, in about 1885.
Located between Leoti and Tribune, Kansas, Selkirk is an unincorporated community in Wichita County and an extinct town, as it no longer has a post office.
Established in Leoti Township, this was a busy shipping point in its early years. In 1896, a Missouri Pacific Railroad passenger train wrecked near Selkirk when the eastbound passenger train #202 derailed due to washed-out tracks. One death resulted from the accident.
In its early days, its post office closed and reopened a couple of times. In 1910, Selkirk had a post office, a telegraph office, and a population of 42. Its post office closed for the last time on August 9, 1980. This small agricultural place still has several grain elevators, silos, a Co-op, and various storage buildings.
Selkirk is located about ten miles west of Leoti, Kansas.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, October 2025.
Train Wreck in Selkirk, Kansas, 1896.
Also See:
Extinct Towns of Wichita County
Sources:
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Kansas Post Office History
Wikipedia