Speed, Kansas – Extinct in Phillips County

 

Speed, Kansas, a tiny town in southwestern Phillips County, is located on the north bluffs of the Solomon River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 37, and it had a total area of 0.15 square miles, all land. It is also an extinct town, as its post office closed decades ago.

When this place was first established, it was called Big Bend for the “big bend” in the North Solomon River. It was situated between Logan and Marvin (Glade). The first settlers arrived in 1874.

A post office was established on August 4, 1876, one mile west of the current town of Speed. 

By 1878, it had Methodist and United Brethren Churches and a district school. Mail was delivered tri-weekly to David M. Landreth, the postmaster. It also had a lumber dealer, a general store, a livery, a miller, two tanners, two blacksmiths, a tinsmith, a butcher, a carpenter, a grain dealer, a druggist, a physician, a wine and liquor store, a sawmill, and a hotel.

The town of Big Bend was platted on October 8, 1887.

Big Bend’s post office closed on February 28, 1895.

A post office was reopened on March 28, 1895, and was named after James Speed, a personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln, who served as Attorney General in the Lincoln and Andrew Johnson administrations. However, local businessmen said that the town was renamed “Speed” because “The place was making such rapid progress, and it was a desirable name for a prosperous town.”  The railroad station continued to be called Big Bend.

In 1910, Speed was on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a bank, a weekly newspaper called the Clarion, a grain elevator, a hotel, several retail establishments, express and telegraph offices, and a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 225. The railroad name is Big Bend. It is surrounded by fertile agricultural land, and livestock, grain, produce, poultry, and dairy products are shipped from there.

Speed continued to grow, and on January 2, 1928, it was incorporated.

Despite this status, Speed began to lose population, in part due to the 1939 opening of the oil refinery in nearby Philipsburg and the jobs it brought.

Speed’s post office closed on December 30, 1964.

In 2008, the Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary Cross-Country Road Trip held a special event in Speed. It was only one of six stops in the USA. It brought more than 10,000 people to the area to celebrate Hot Wheels. The celebration included a parade of classic cars, a beauty pageant, and free Hot Wheels.

Speed is about ten miles southwest of Phillipsburg, the county seat.