German settlement in northwestern Smith County. The town was abandoned by 1885.

The lost town of Germantown was founded by hard working settlers who, with the last of their money, bought claims on this sight. They fought valiantly to break the western Kansas landscape and began to prosper. By standing up and refusing to have a railroad they kept their quiet town, but not for long. With a town popping up four miles south next to the railway, Germantown soon faded until the only thing left was the cemetery we see today.

Halee Thompson

The Chapman Center for Rural STudies

Fall 2012

The Chapman Center for Rural Studies

Kansas State University, Department of History

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