Pearl, Dickinson County

English Immigrants Find A Pearl On The Prairie

Pearl managed to survive for almost 80 years, but all that remains of the once bustling community are the old railroad tracks and the still functioning Alida Pearl Coop grain elevators. The grain towers are the first things a person sees when driving towards the spot where Pearl once stood. They stand out, memorializing the rich history and lasting presence of the town that once existed around them. Pearl was once a thriving community, built upon the dreams of an enterprising businessman, but succumbed to the strains of modernization and the pull of its inhabitants to the urban core.

Ethan Riggs

The Chapman Center for Rural Studies

Fall 2011

The Chapman Center for Rural Studies

Kansas State University, Department of History

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