Vintage Vernon, Kansas.
Vernon is a ghost town in northeastern Woodson County.
Vernon was established about 11 miles northeast of Yates Center in 1886. The town was platted in December 1886 when the Verdigris Valley, Independence, & Western Railroad was built from LeRoy to Yates Center. For a short time, Vernon was known as Talmadge because another town called Vernon was in western Kansas. However, the use of Talmadge was short-lived. When the post office moved from Everett and was established in Vernon on January 31, 1887, it was called Vernon.
An oil boom struck Vernon in 1903 when oil was discovered nearby.
In 1910, Vernon was a station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had the main lines of mercantile interests, with express and telegraph offices, a money order post office with one rural route, and a population of 100. It was the shipping and supply center for the farmers of the vicinity.
Pump jacks in Kansas.
A second oil boom came in 1917-1918 with much oil drilling in the area. From its beginning, Vernon was also known as a prairie hay center. This trade was one of the primary sources of income. During its heyday, the population would increase by 50-75 workers during the summertime.
In 1924, Vernon became known as the “World’s Hay Market.”
Vernon Rural High School was established in 1925.
By the 1950s, Vernon’s population had declined, and its post office closed on August 1, 1953.
In the 1960s, the high school was closed.
Today, the boarded-up high school still stands on the north end of town. Nearby is a dilapidated church; another church was turned into a residence, and several houses and buildings remain in the area today.
The community is served by the Woodson USD 366 public school district.
Vernon is about ten miles northeast of Yates Center, the county seat.
Old school in Vernon, Kansas.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, December 2024.
Also See:
Sources:
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.
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