Historical Directory of Kansas Towns [C]

The Caches--Santa Fe Trail;
Cain City--Rice; 

Caldwell--Sumner; Chisholm Trail; founded in 1871; people swarmed
into area when land in Cherokee Strip opened for homestead; 
Caldwell, Kansas was a wild cowtown in the 1870's. Its latest fame came in 1986
   when its sixth grade class under the direction of their teacher, Mr.
   Larry Miller, started a campaign to have the ornate box turtle named
   the state reptile of Kansas. They were successful, and now the town is
   known as the ornate box turtle capital of the world. 

Calhoun--Shawnee; 

Calista--Kingman; 
   Now just a virtual "ghost town" with a population of less than 10,
   Calista was once a happening town on a major rail-line that ran
   between wichita and dodge city. at one time, calista had an annual
   rodeo and the circus stopped as well. there was once a shoot-out on
   main street between the kingman co. sherrif and a local outlaw, and in
   the 1920s, a mass murder shocked the whole area when a hired hand
   killed almost an entire ranch family except for a retarded son, who
   alerted police that his family had been killed. the greatest local
   attraction is a massive mansion from the old "sears ranch" (a ranch so
   big that US 54 used to detour around it) located on private property
   just west of town. calista can be found 9 miles west and 1/4 miles
   south of kingman on the "zenda blacktop." old buildings that can still
   be seen are an old blacksmith/auto shop, a post office and several
   houses. the only active business in town is a small grain elevator
   that is only open for about 2 weeks during wheat harvest. on an
   interesting side note, the "official" name of the town is new calista,
   because when the railroad came through, the entire town was moved to
   its present site from about 2 miles west-southwest. all that is left
   of "old calista" is a depression of where the mill-run was. 
[Mark Bogner contributed this information]

Cambria (New Cambria)--Saline; K.P. R.R.; 
Cambridge--
Camden (Skiddy)--Morris; M.K.T. R.R.
Camp Lark--Comanche;
Campus--Gove; K.P. R.R.

Caney--Montgomery; named for canebrakes that grew nearby when the
town was founded in 1871.

Canton--Anderson; 
Canton--McPherson; C.R.I.P. R.R. 1887

Capioma--Nemaha; 1856; center of S23 T3S R14E, on Ft. Leavenworth
and Ft. Laramie Military Road; Named for Kickapoo Indian chief;
P.O. 1857, David Magill, postmaster;
Carbondale--Osage; A.T.S.F. R.R.; name came from Pennsylvania;
Carlton--Dickinson; Carlton, pioneer blacksmith
Carlyle--Allen; 
Carlyle (Oakley)--Logan; K.P. R.R.
Carneiro--Ellsworth; K.P. R.R.;

Carona--Cherokee;
Carona was a small town outside Pittsburg which was settled by the
   Viettis from Turino, Italy. It is still on the maps but the general
   store is gone and I'm not sure if the post office is still
   active. 
[Suzette Cowan contributed this information.]

Cash City--Clark
Casper--

Cassoday--Butler;

Cassoday--Stafford; 
I believe the present town of Macksville was known prior to its
   founding by the name of Cassoday. According to an early resident,
   Cassoday was just north of the current site of Macksville. 
[Mike O'Connor (mkocon@flash.net) contributed this material]

Castle Rock--Gove; named by Lieutenant J. R. Fitch, surveyor for
a stage line; thought rocks in the area looked like a group of
English castles; Castle Rock Creek Station on the Butterfield Trail;

Catherine--Ellis; Catherine is located 
   approximately 5 miles from Hays. It was founded by five German-Russian
   families lead by Friedrich Karlin in 1876. Initial immigrants were all
   Catholic Germans from the Volga River Region of Russia. Most of them
   immigrated from the village of Katharinenstadt, Russia, known today as
   Marxstadt. Named after Queen Catherine, empress of Russia. 

Cato--Crawford; 

Ghost town located in the northern part of Crawford county, 
lies half way between Frontenac and Fort Scott, Kansas. 

Earliest settlement in Crawford County established in 1858 by 
E. J. Boring, who named the town after Judge Sterling G. Cato 
of the Kansas Territorial Supreme Court.  The Cato post office 
was the first in the county. 

Major hotel there from approx. 1840 to 1990... searching for 
name, history, etc. 

The railroad had originally been intended to go through Cato. 
When the Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad attempted 
to lay tracks through Cato in 1869, the Land League pulled up 
the stakes and caused major problems.  The railroad moved the 
tracks to the present site of THE TANK (Farlington) instead. 

The post office closed 31 Jul 1905. After World War I the 
community ceased to exist.  The only thing left is the old 
school house which is now the community center.  

[Ron contributed to this information.]

Cave Springs--Butler; name of a station on the S.L.S.F. R.R,;
Cave Springs--Elk; name changed from Montrose to Cave Springs;
Cawker City--Mitchell 
Cedar--Smith; previous name was Cedarville; 
Cedar Bluffs--Decatur;
Cedar Falls--Jefferson;
Cedar Falls--Lincoln;
Cedar Point--Chase; place name changed from Cottonwood Valley;
Cedar Vale--Chautauqua; 
Ceila (aka Celia)--Wabaunsee; C.R.I.P. R.R. 1887

Center City--Chautauqua; 
This town no longer exists, the
   railroad moved and the town died. I helped excavate the foundation of
   a spring house and the old post office building. It is on property now
   owned by the Quivira Council of the Boy Scouts of America in the
   Quivira Scout Ranch. [Information contributed by William Burris]

Central City--Anderson; 
Central City--Nemaha; 1855; S31 T1S R13E, about 2 m. s.e. of
Baker's Ford; P.O. 1858, Hiram H. Lanham, postmaster; founded by
William Dodge. 

Centralia--Nemaha; M.P. R.R. Central Branch
Centropolis--Franklin 
Cerro Gordo--Jewell 
Chalk Mound--Wabaunsee;
Chalk Pyramids--Gove;
Chantilly--Kearny

Chanute--Neosho; The town now named Chanute resulted
from the merging of several towns and the substitution of Chanute
for six other names: Alliance/Osage City/Tioga/Chicago/Chicago
Junction/New Chicago; M.K.T. R.R.; terminal of the Katy Railroad
was named Alliance; town named after Octavius Chanute, a promoter
of the "Border Tier" railroad (later part of the Santa Fe); Benedict
Branch of Santa Fe R.R.;

Chapman Creek Station--Smoky Hill Trail;
Chapman--Dickinson; 1889 What was said to be the first county
high school in the United States is established at Chapman; 
K.P. R.R.; U.P. R.R.; Eeramus Francis was the U.P. R.R. agent 
in 1887--HIS parents 
moved there in 1887 where his father, ABRAHAM FRANCIS, M.D. practiced 
Medicine--abraham and his wife Hannah Francis are buried in the Indian 
Hill Cemetery in Chapman (1888 and 1889).

Charlestown (Charleston)--Doniphan; S22 T2S R21E; P.O. 1857-60,
Michael Byrd, postmaster.
Chase--Rice; A.T.S.F. R.R.;

Chautauqua Springs--Chautauqua; 
Cheney--Sedgwick; A.T.S.F. R.R.

Chenola--Ellis; 
   Founded in 1888 and destroyed in 1905 to build Antonino six
   miles away in one direction. I can't seem to find out which direction
   Antonino was built away from Chenola. Need to know exact or
   approximate location of Chenola if possible! 
   [Info contributed by Sarah Crockett] 

Chepstow--Washington;
Chepstow was located in the extreme Southeast corner of Sec. 7 T5S R5E, 
Lincoln Township, Washington County.  Nothing left but a cemetery. 

My name is Floyd Dunn and I am trying to find out if there is any history
about the town of Chepstow, Washington County, Kansas.  My great-grandfather
was from Chepstow.  I believe that Chepstow did not survive a tornado that
destroyed most of the town's property. Chepstow can be located in the
Southeast corner of the old Washington County map shown in Cutler's
description of Washington County.  I would appreciate any references that you
may know of that would describe some history of the town. 
[Floyd Dunn contributed this information.]

Cherokee--

Cherry Vale--Montgomery; 1871 founded by the Kansas City,
Leavenworth, and Southern Kansas Railroad in the Cherry Creek
Valley; S.L.S.F. R.R.; town named Cherryville, then to Cherry
Vale, and then to Cherryvale;

Chetola--Ellis; 

Chetopa--Labette; founded in 1857 on land once occupied by an 
Osage Indian village and named for Chetopa, an Osage chief whose 
name was supposed to mean "four houses"; M.K.T. R.R.; 

New Chicago--Neosho; replaced by Chanute;
Child's Acres--
Chillicothie--
Choteau--Johnson; S.F. R.R.;
Chouteau's Island--Gray; Santa Fe Trail
Churchhill--located near Tescott; Thomas Bartlett Sears went to
Kansas after service in Civil War, had a post office in his home
and named it Churchhill.

Cimarron--Gray; 1830s Middle/Cimarron Crossing (ford) of the 
Arkansas River where the Santa Fe Trail headed toward the Cimarron 
River; A.T.S.F. R.R. 1872;

Claflin--Barton 
Clare--Johnson; Local landowner;
Claudell--Smith; Pioneer family;

Clawson--Finney; 
   Clawson was started by my great grand uncle Clarance F. Parker in 1875
   or 76. He had a store and was post master there. He was originally
   from Friendly WV. He died in the Clawson area in his twenties. He and
   his brother Joe corresponded to family throughout the fall of 1886 and
   spring of 1887. I have letters with a prospectus of Clawson and a map
   of Kansas on the back. Delorme Street Atlas 4.0 shows Clawson as a pont
   of interest. Clawson is located about 7.5 miles east of Ravanna along
   the Pawnee River. I am looking for any information about Clawson, 
   especially after 1887.
   [Information contributed by Neal Parker]

Clay Center--Butler;
Clay Center--Clay; founded in 1862; seat of Clay County in 1866;
railroad reached Clay Center in 1873;
Clearwater--Sedgwick; name translated from the Indian name Ninnescah;
Clements--Chase; (see Hunt's Station)

Clifton--Clay; 
Clifton--Washington; M.P. R.R; U.P. R.R. station name is Vining; 
Climax--Howard Branch of Santa Fe R.R.;
Clinton--Douglas; the town of Clinton, Kansas was drowned by Clinton 
Reservoir. 
Clonmel--Sedgwick; 
Clovet--

Clyde--Cloud; about 35 miles W-SW of Waterville; 
Town site purchased by the Honey family. First sherriff of the town 
was Quincy Honey. Jene Honey had a photo shop near by. First school
started by Rosella Honey in Cloud County.  

Coats--Pratt; A.T.S.F. R.R.;

Codell--Rooks; 

Codell's claim to fame lies in the fact that it was struck by 
tornadoes on the same day (May 20) in three consecutive years 
(1916, 1917, and 1918). Source: Guinness Book of World Records. 

Cofachiqui--Allen;

Coffeyville--Montgomery; 
named after James A. Coffey who had a trading post at an
Osage camp called Talley Springs (not on railroad);
Octave Chanute surveyed and platted a town north of Talley 
Springs called Old Coffeyville (on railroad); 
Old Coffeyville was a cattle terminal;
Leavenworth, Lawrence and Gulf Railroad terminal; U.P. R.R.;
5 Oct 1892 the Dalton gang attempted to rob two banks at the same 
time in Coffeyville. The aroused citizenry shot down Bob and Grat 
Dalton and Bill Powers.

Colby--Thomas; named after J. R. Colby who published the first
newspaper in the county; the first post office in Thomas County
was erected at Colby before the town existed. 

   Joseph R. Colby settled in area 1880, had first child born in
   Thomas County. April 1, 1881 established Post Office on his claim.
   Moved it four miles north where the town of Colby now is in order to
   be between the Union Pacific and Rock Island Railway. Daughter Anna
   first teacher in co, wife Mary Jane Welton. 
[Melinda Fitz contributed this information.]

Cold Spring--Doniphan; Pony Express Station 1860. Francis Bodart
settled claim in 1856, NE 1/4 S34 T3S R20E.
Coldwater--Comanche; seat of Comanche County;
Coleman--Sedgwick; W. C. Coleman, industrialist
Collano--Meade; C.R.I.P. R.R. 1887
Collyer--Trego; K.P. R.R.
Colokan--Greeley 
Colony--Anderson; 

Columbus City--Doniphan; platted May 25, 1857; SE 1/4 S20 & SW
1/4 S21 T2S R22E; P.O. 1860-67, Henry Wilson, postmaster. 

Columbus--Cherokee; seat of Cherokee County; known as "the
center" as early as 1868 when L. Lee opened a general store on
the town site; A. L. Peters named Columbus, KS for Columbus, OH, 
which was named after Christopher Columbus; S.L.S.F. R.R. 1877
Colwich--

Como--Cloud; located about 7.5 miles due east of Aurora; located 
approximately 12 miles east and 8 south of Concordia, Kansas; 

Comisky--Lyon; just inside the west border on a line east of Council 
Grove in the 1918 Hammond atlas.
Concordia--Cloud; 1864 began when J. M. Hageman selected the
townsite; 1870 Concordia established; Jul 1943--A German prisoner
of war (POW) camp was built in Concordia during World War II.

Conway Springs--
Coolidge--Hamilton; A.T.S.F. R.R.
Coopersville--Clark; Dr. John Cooper, pioneer
Copeland--A.T.S.F. R.R.

Corbin--Sumner or Montgomery;
   I will forward historial data when I receive
   it but I wanted to note that my grandmother was born there in 1904 but
   I have not been able to find any information on the town.
[Elaine Tavizon (gtavizon@earthlink.com) contributed this information.]

Corinth--Osborne; located at the tip of the southern fork of Glen 
Elder Reservoir on the Solomon River; located about 9 miles due 
east of Osborne on Highway 181; located about half way between Tipton 
and Downs;

Cornhill--Butler;
Corning--Nemaha; M.P. R.R. Central Branch
Coronado--Wichita 
Corwin--Harper; Oscar A. Corwin, postmaster; 
Cottonwood Falls--Chase; founded in 1858 by a group of titled
Englishmen; 
Cottonwood Springs--Doniphan; Pony Express Station 1860-61; Chas.
& Catherine Stewart, prop. 1855-56; "Old Chamberlain Place" owned
by Hugh Finklea, Jr., in 1916. 
Cottonwood Valley--Chase; place name changed to Cedar Point.
Cottonwood--A.T.S.F. R.R.
Council Grove--Morris; M.K.T. R.R.; Santa Fe Trail
Courtland--
Covert--Osborne; 1879 first (stone) house built in Covert by J.
M. Bradshaw; town organized Oct. 19, 1880 and named after a
pioneer; 

Cowland--Finney; 
Tried for the county seat of Garland County.  Garland County 
was the L-shaped part of Finney County; it was too small for a  
county, and so it was added to Finney County.  The name Cowland 
was changed to Ravanna, and soon thereafter the town folded. 

Coyville--Wilson; Oscar Coy, store owner and postmaster; on the Benedict 
Branch of Santa Fe R.R.; Ft. Row (Rowe) was near Coyville; 
Craig--Johnson; Landowner
Cravensville--Cherokee; Townsite owner
Crawfordsville--Chase; (see Hunt's Station)
Cresco--Anderson; 
Cresswell--Cowley; 
Crestline--Cherokee; S.L.S.F. R.R.; 
Criple Creek--Marshall;
Crisfield--Harper; 
Croweburg--Crawford; named for the Crowe Coal Mining Company; 
Crystal Springs--
Cumberland--Thomas; 
Cullison--Pratt; C.R.I.P. R.R. 1887; James B. Cullison, lawyer
Cummingsville--Atchison; A.T.S.F. R.R.; 
Cunningham--
Curranville--Crawford;