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- Le Hunt. 37.269167, -95.751944. Status: Abandoned. Le Hunt was home to several notable figures, including cowboy movie star Tom Mix. As town marshal, his job was to keep law and order in the area.
- Dunlap. 38.576163, -96.366639. Status: Abandoned. Dunlap was first established in 1974 when the first post office was erected. The area was settled by Joseph Dunlap, who represented Native American tribes in the region.
- Castleton. 37.867950, -97.969200. Status: Abandoned. In the 1950s, Castleton, Kansas, was a thriving community based around slate mining. It was populated by Irish, Italian, and Russian immigrants and prospered for about 50 years, around 1850.
- Pfeifer. 38.708226, -99.165621. Status: Semi-Abandoned. The town of Pfeifer is like many of the other ghost towns in Kansas, but what makes this town stand out is its church.
Towns were either pro-slavery or abolitionist. When Kansas became a free state in 1861, pro-slavery towns died out. Survival of a town also depended on if it won the county seat. Towns that were contenders for the county seat and lost typically saw most, if not all, of their town die out.
- Alexander – Refuge for Many. Alexander is a tiny community, home to just 70 people. It is the oldest settled area in Rush County. Alexander was established in 1869 as a trading post on the north bank of Walnut Creek.
- Bavaria – Buffalo History. Bavaria is an unincorporated settlement originally known as Honek, named after the area’s first settler, Ernst Hohneck. Hohneck came to the area in 1865, after moving from his native Germany 15 years earlier.
- Black Wolf – Railroad Ruin. Black Wolf began as a station on the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1870s. The town produced coal in the 1880s and was home to many farms and ranches.
- Bushong – Baseball Tradition. In the late 1880s, the Missouri Pacific Railroad built tracks across northern Lyon County. Joseph Weeks donated 20 acres to the railroad company, and the Weeks Station was built.
For several reasons, towns and settlements that once flourished are abandoned and become ghost towns. Rustic Barn near Huron, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander. A ghost town is a historical town or settlement that leaves evidence of a town’s previous glory.
- Mildred. Step back in time to Mildred, Kansas, an almost forgotten settlement with roots in early industrial America. Here, amidst dwindling populations and quiet streets, lies the tale of an ambitious industrialist, a thriving cement company, and a town that once bustled with life.
- Empire City. Discover Empire City, Kansas, a nearby ghost town that once bustled with mining activity and notorious nightlife. Nestled just north of Galena, Empire City whispers tales of the feverish boomtown days, its weathervane pointing to Red Hot Street, a stretch once riddled with saloons, gambling dens, and brothels.
- Trading Post. Step into the haunting past of Trading Post, Kansas, an unincorporated community in Linn County that holds a complex history within its quiet boundaries.
- Pawnee. Journey to Pawnee, Kansas, a ghost town whispering tales of political change and early American territorial disputes. Marked as the Kansas Territory’s first official capital, albeit for a brief five days, the town’s old capitol building stands in quiet dignity, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Exploring the eerie remnants of forgotten communities, Kansas boasts a collection of ghost towns steeped in history and mystery. From the chilling legends of Stull to the silent streets of Nicodemus, each abandoned settlement holds tales of bygone eras waiting to be discovered.
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Kansas Ghost Towns features history, information and photographs of the many ghost towns in the Sunflower State.
