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Bradford, Wabaunsee County
Bradford, located in Section 23 of Wilmington Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas, was a small community that tells a unique story of racial coexistence and rural population decline. Black and white residents both called the area home and coexisted in…
Walsburg, Riley County
Swedish settlers founded Walsburg in 1866, naming it after nearby Walnut Creek. A small Swedish community grew there for decades. However, after the Union Pacific Railroad left town in 1935, Walsburg declined and became a lost community.
Murdock, Kingman County
Murdock, Kansas, started out as New Murdock in 1884 and underwent a name change in 1910. Today Murdock is a quiet community of about 375 residents.
Holland, Dickinson County
Families in Holland, Kansas, a Dickinson County town seven miles south of Abilene, sought to form a community that could provide a education for their children, respite from the continuous toil the soil required, and, eventually, a structure to…
Buckeye, Dickinson County
It was a Tuesday, April 5, 1870, when a group of approximately two hundred people from Ohio emigrated to Buckeye Township, attracted by the promise of a homestead and prosperity. Residents faced many economic challenges over the years, and now only a…
Tipton, Mitchell County
William A. Pitt and fellow settlers from Trier, Germany, first settled near Carr Creek, but flooding encouraged them to relocate to the top of a nearby hill. They called their settlement Pittsburg and, later, Tipton.
Swedesburg, Clay County
Swedish immigrants established the first homestead in what became Garfield Township in 1868. Churches provided the foundation of the Swedesburg community, which overcame the Great Depression, both world wars, and a 1973 tornado.
Navarre, Dickinson County
Navarre was organized around the school, the church, and starting in 1887, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad. Fire destroyed much of the town in 1939, and it never recovered.
Hiattville, Bourbon County
Hiattville was once a booming town, its population increasing from 50 to 500 in the 1880s. Many residents left after a 1905 fire, and the post office finally closed in 1986.
Dillon, Dickinson County
Today at what used to be the center of the town of Dillon are three houses and the Dillon Elevator. This is what is left of the town of Dillon, which once had a population of over 1,000.
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St. Clere, Pottawatomie County
This study illustrates the founding, growth, and decline of the small town of St. Clere in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, which competed unsuccessfully…