Towns of Norton County, Kansas

Towns of Norton County, Kansas

* Towns in Bold Print still have businesses and residents today
If town name is underlined, click on it for additional history and information.  
If you have any information on any of the dead towns, please contact me by email.

Name of town PO Established PO Discontinued First Postmaster Name Changed Location Established by Date Plat Filed Date Townsite Vacated Notes Map
Ailanthus Grove 27 May 1879 08 Dec 1879 John R. Taylor              
Alfalfa 13 Feb 1882 16 May 1882 James V. Smith              
Almena 10 Jun 1872   David C. Coleman   Almena Township Lincoln Land Company 07 Jul 1885

 

   moved to a new site north of creek when RR came though 1,2,3,4,
5,6,8,9
Alverd aka Alvord 06 Apr 1900 31 Dec 1900 Frank M. Lockard   Garfield Township         6
Bath 05 Feb 1879 21 Nov 1879 William Dobbie           Wm. Dobbie lived in Sand Creek township  
Bell 25 Jun 1879 02 May 1884 Norman C. Workman To Rockwell City Garfield Township         2
Billingsville 10 Jun 1872 28 Oct 1872 Nathan H. Billings To Norton Orange Township A "paper town" established by Nathan Billings        
Birkville 19 May 1897 30 Jan 1904 William Birkholz   Grant Township         6
Bower 22 Jan 1885 20 Feb 1889 John R. Smith             3
Brett 07 Jun 1880 10 Apr 1882 John T. Pool             3
Brett 18 Feb 1884 18 Oct 1887               3
Cactus 22 Jun 1874 22 Sep 1887 William Grant   Lincoln Township         2,3,5,6
Cactus 28 Oct 1898 14 Oct 1903     Lincoln Township         1,2,5,6
Calvert 01 Sep 1885 31 Oct 1953 James W. Stotts From Neighborville Emmett Township         3,4,5,6,
9
Cheeseman 05 Dec 1879 23 Mar 1882 John Wallace           G. N. Cheeseman settled in Modell Township  
Clayton - Old         1 mile N. of present site John Cameron   1888    
Clayton - New 31 Mar 1879 ? John Cameron    Noble Township, on Norton Decatur county line Kansas Town & Land Company 07 Mar 1888     5,6,8,9
Colony                 another name for Rockwell City - the Dunkard Colony  
Croco 05 Sep 1881 08 Jun 1883 James Blue   Rock Branch Township         2
Dallas 04 Sep 1879 04 Nov 1885 Ira S. Hall To Oronoque            
David 16 May 1887 15 May 1889 David N. Reed              
Dellvale 17 Mar 1890 ? Frank E. Gilder From South Oronoque Leota Township         4,5,6,8,
9
Densmore 20 Dec 1880 22 Oct 1988 Elizabeth E. Densmore From West Union West Union Township Thomas J. Densmore 10 July 1881   last postmaster Karen Walters, 12 Jul 1980 - 22 Oct 1988 2,3,4,5,
6,7,8,9
Devizes 04 Mar 1874 15 Apr 1926 Reuben Bisbee, Sr.   Rock Branch Township Reuben & Lucinda Marvin 04 Jan 1890     1,2,3,4,
5,6
Edmond 03 Jun 1879 20 Mar 1993 Albert Weaver From Port Landis Solomon Township 03 Sep 1879     last postmaster Karen Walters, 22 Oct 1988 - 20 March 1993 2,3,4,5,
6,7,8,9
Fairhaven aka
Fair Haven		 30 Jul 1879 29 Feb 1904 Judson C. Wilson   Grant Township         2,3,4,5,
6
Gath 21 Feb 1902 14 Oct 1903 Elizabeth C. Campbell   Grant Township, nearly on Phillips county line          
Hanback 04 Mar 1884 31 Dec 1892 Devillo R. Blanding From Reagle           3
Hedgewood 18 May 1882 ? David E. Stevens   Sand Creek Township         2,3,4,5
Hedgewood 20 Sep 1893 ? William Dobbie   Sand Creek Township         2,3,4,5
Hedgewood 27 Apr 1897 15 Mar 1898 Elizabeth Adams   Sand Creek Township         2,3,4,5
Kyd circa 1915?       Almena Township, 6 1/2 miles NE of Almena Robert Kyd     railway station; never had a post office  
Lee 08 May 1876 06 Mar 1883 Willis B. Dimmick   Almena Township       first established in Phillips County  
Lenora 24 Jun 1874 11 Nov 1874 Ole H. Peterson from Spring City Lenora Township Mr. Sedoris, A. Hendricks   Summer 1876 2 miles west of present Lenora  
Lenora 30 Nov 1874   A. Hendricks   Lenora Township Cornelia Burwell, George W. Hood, C. H. Lansing, L.A. Hendricks 28 Jun 1879, 18 Aug 1879, 13 Sep 1879, 16 Dec 1880     1,2,3,4,
5,6,8,9
Leota 22 Oct 1874 17 Oct 1881 John M. Cooper From Weston Orange Township?? I. N. Cope 05 Jun 1879 03 Jul 1882   1
Long Branch 26 Feb 1875 10 Feb 1882 Christ F. Bender   on Long Branch Creek, Rock Branch or Crystal Township??         1
Lookout       To Norcatur       "The new town is called Norcatur instead of Lookout." Norton Champion, 23 July 1885 called Lookout by the RR because it was built high on the "divide"  
Modell 21 Mar 1878 17 Jul 1882 John W. Langford   Modell Township          
Neighborville 15 Feb 1875 10 Apr 1882 Abraham Bieber To Calvert Emmett Township         1
New Elam aka New Elm 11 Feb 1879 20 Sep 1880 Austin Miller To Almelo Almelo Township          
Almelo 20 Sep 1880 15 Mar 1901 Hartog Meiberger aka Meibergen From New Elam; to New Almelo Almelo Township   18 Apr 1879 early 1880's built around the sod stockade at New Elm  
New Almelo 05 Jul 1902 29 Apr 1905   from Almelo Almelo Township       grew up around the Catholic Church 2,3,4,5,
6,8,9
New Almelo 31 Oct 1917 ?       Bishop John F. Cunningham November 1905     2,3,4,5,
6,8,9
Norcatur 30 Oct 1885 ? Jonathan D. Riggs   in Decatur County       Norcatur's cemetery is in Norton County 4,6,9
Norton 28 Oct 1872 PO still exists Jul 2001 Edward M. Newell From Billingsville Center/Orange Township         1,2,3,4,
5,6,8,9
Norton Center ? ?   To Reedtown            
Orange 24 Nov 1890 31 Aug 1891 Elizabeth A. Tyler              
Oronoque 04 Nov 1885 15 Oct 1934 William T. Campbell From Dallas Leota Township Lincoln Land Co. 10 Aug 1885     3,4,5,6,
8,9
Parma 13 Apr 1899 15 Dec 1899 Lizzie Hart           Dan & Lizzie Hart homesteaded in Solomon Twp  
Port Landis 24 Jun 1874 03 Jun 1879 Evan S. Purviance To Edmond on border Solomon/ Modell townships O. M. Dannevik, Fred A. Barlow       1
Rayville 16 Feb 1885 15 Apr 1889 George W. Rhamy   Almena Township near NE state line         3,4,5,6
Rayville 19 Dec 1889 31 Dec 1902     Almena Township near NE state line         3,4,5,6
Reager 18 May 1916 29 Sep 1923 James B. Shepherd     A. L. Hicks, Henry Westerman never     9
Reagle 28 Aug 1882 04 Mar 1884 Joseph M. Miller From Wilmot, NE
To Hanback		 Harrison Township         2
Redd 26 Mar 1883 18 Aug 1886 Mary C. Rule   Leota Township?         3
Reedtown ? ?   From Norton Center Orange Township? Shelby D. Reed        
Rockwell City 02 May 1884 30 Jan 1904 William Rockwell From Bell  Garfield Township     Abt 1885   3,4,5,6
Seth ? ?     Emmett Township David F. & Ida H. McFarland 13 Sep 1887   a railway station; probably never had a post office 4,6
Slater Post Office (attempted) about 1885       1 1/2 miles east of Oronoque, Leota Township     10 Aug 1885    
Smithton 18 Apr 1884 18 Nov 1886 Oliver P. Smith   Harrison or Aldine Township         3
South Oronoque ? ?   To Dellvale Leota Township John K. & Phoebe E. Gray 18 Sep 1888      
Spring City about 1874 about 1874   To Lenora Lenora Township       2 miles west of Lenora  
Tucket 03 May 1881 04 Dec 1882 Erasmus D. Rountree   Noble Township         2
Wakeman 27 May 1879 26 Oct 1881 John P. Bozarth             3
Wakeman 17 Nov 1881 27 Oct 1887               3
West Union 24 Jun 1874 20 Dec 1880 Alfred J. Coleman To Densmore West Union Township, 2 1/4 miles east of Densmore         1
Weston ? ?   To Leota Orange Township?? I. N. Cope, M. A. Morrison, Dr. Green, Nora Weaver        

Maps showing locations:
1 - 1878 Norton County
2  - 1883 Norton County
3 - 1893 Kansas Map - Columbian Worlds Fair Atlas
4  - 1895 Norton County
5  - 1897 Kansas Map - The Century Atlas
6 - 1900 Norton County Atlas
7 - 1917 Norton County Atlas (4 townships in SE corner only)
8 - 1935 Norton County Plat Map
9 - 1972 Atlas of Norton County

Other sources of information used in compiling this table were:
Baughman, Robert W., "Kansas Post Offices"
Bower, D. N., "Seventy Years in Norton County, Kansas"
Lockard, F. M., "The History of the Early Settlement of Norton County, Kansas"

İMarch 2001  Ardie Grimes
These pages were established 07 March 2001 by Ardie Grimes and are dedicated to free access to records, documents and photos of historical and genealogical value. Documents contained herein may be copied for personal, non-commercial use as long as this message remains on all material.   These records, documents and photos may not be reproduced, published or re-published for any reason, in any format,  including electronic (web pages or CD's) and print, without prior written consent of the contributors or copyright holders.

Last Updated 09 July 2001