Geneva, Kansas | |
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  Geneva  Geneva | |
| Coordinates: 38°1′1″N95°29′39″W / 38.01694°N 95.49417°W [1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Allen |
| Township | Geneva |
| Founded | 1857 |
| Elevation | 1,020 ft (310 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 66749 (Iola) |
| Area code | 620 |
| FIPS code | 20-26090 |
| GNIS ID | 478117 [1] |
Geneva is an unincorporated community in Allen County, Kansas, United States. [1]
The town of Geneva was founded by free-state men in the summer of 1857. A colony was formed in New York under the leadership of Ephraim Fisk, and another in Michigan under the leadership of Merritt Moore. These united, forming the Union Settlement Association, among the prominent members in which were Dr. B.L.G. Stone, G.L. Wait, S.T. Jones, Rev. G.S. Northrup, I.A. Holman, P.P. Phillips, E.J. Brinkerhoff, J.H. Spicer, A.P. Sain, H.R. Somers, Frank Ureidenberg, J.C. Redfield, and J.M. Mattoon. The colony selected the northwestern part of Allen County for a location, and started out with great expectations. There were about 300 families engaged to settle at once. It was decided to locate and lay out a town comprising not less than 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land. The site was chosen on account of the fertile prairie land around, as well as the heavy timber so close along the banks of the streams. It was decided to at once begin the building of a large structure and to found a non-sectarian college and academy.
Plans having been made for so much building and so many families having promised to locate, the next thing was to erect a saw-mill. Therefore, a contract was entered into with L.L. Northrup that he should build a steam saw-mill, and that the colony should, in turn, give him 160 acres (0.65 km2) of good timber land and furnish him all the sawing he could do, and pay him $15 per thousand feet. The mill was brought and set up on the bank of Indian Creek, in the summer of the year 1858. But the sawing was not provided in any great quantities and Northrup soon opened a store.
Though the settlement started with such brilliant prospects, the idea of building a large town was soon given up. Not one-fourth of the projected colony of 300 families ever came, and those who did were rather poor, and through the lack of money and settlement the college was not built, though an academy afterward took its place. The settlers from the first were an intelligent and enterprising class of people, who regarded the moral and mental culture of the young as one of the first things to be looked to, after opening their farms, therefore churches and schools were established. There was at first considerable controversy over claims, which resulted in occasional riots, but aside from this the neighborhood had generally been very peaceable.
Geneva continued to exist as a small unincorporated community, and by the year 1869 it contained two stores, one blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, a hotel, a Congregational Church built of stone, and an academy. This building was a frame structure two stories high, and the school had been established in 1866 under charge of the Neosho Presbytery. The population was then about one hundred. By 1872 additional improvements were made, and several business enterprises were undertaken that afterward fell through. It was expected that a railroad would be built through that part of the county, and when the town failed to secure it, it began to decline. [2]
Geneva had a post office from November 1858 until September 1942. [3]
Geneva is located in Section 25, Township 23 south, Range 17 east. It is situated north of the Neosho River, and between Martin and Indian creeks. Contained entirely within Geneva Township in Allen County, it is about 10 miles northwest of Iola (the county seat). [4]
Montgomery County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 31,486. The county was named after Richard Montgomery, a major general during the American Revolutionary War.
Woodson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Yates Center. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 3,115. The county was named after Daniel Woodson, a five-time acting governor of the Kansas Territory.
Wilson County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Fredonia. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,624. The county was named after Hiero Wilson, a colonel in the American Civil War.
Shawnee County is located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. Its county seat and most populous city is Topeka, the state capital. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. The county was one of the original 33 counties created by the first territorial legislature in 1855, and it was named for the Shawnee tribe.
Osborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. It county seat and largest city is Osborne. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 3,500. The county is named for Vincent Osborne, a captain in the American Civil War.
Neosho County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Erie. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 15,904. The county was named for the Neosho River, which passes through the county.
Labette County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Oswego, and its most populous city is Parsons. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 20,184. The county was named after LaBette creek, the second-largest creek in the county, which runs roughly NNW-SSE from near Parsons to Chetopa. The creek in turn was named after French-Canadian fur trapper Pierre LaBette who had moved to the area, living along the Neosho River, and marrying into the Osage tribe in the 1830s and 1840s.
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Oskaloosa. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 18,368. The county was named after Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States.
Doniphan County is the most northeastern county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Troy, and its most populous city is Wathena. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 7,510. The county was named after Alexander Doniphan, a Mexican–American War hero. It is bounded on the east by the Missouri river, south by Atchison county, and west by Brown county.
Allen County is a county located in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Iola. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,526. The county was named for William Allen, a U.S. Senator from Ohio and prominent supporter of westward expansion.
Humboldt is a city in Allen County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Neosho River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,847.
Iola is the county seat of Allen County, Kansas, United States. The city is situated along the Neosho River in southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,396. It is named in honor of Iola Colborn.
Erie is a city in and the county seat of Neosho County, Kansas, United States, and situated in the valley of the Neosho River, about a mile Northeast of the river. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,047.
Xenia is a unincorporated in Franklin Township, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States.
Octagon City is a ghost town in Allen County, Kansas, United States. It was a failed intentional community that was founded in 1856 about six miles (10 km) south of Humboldt, Kansas near the Neosho River. It was created by the Vegetarian Kansas Emigration Company, headed by prominent vegetarian Henry S. Clubb and entrepreneurs Charles DeWolfe and John McLaurin. The original intent was to build a vegetarian commune on the south side of the Neosho River, but investor interest in a non-vegetarian moral community was much higher and the decision was made to build Octagon City on the north side of the Neosho River to make the entire project sustainable. Members of Octagon City were under oath to educate their children and uphold a moral lifestyle.
Cofachique is a ghost town situated along the Neosho River near the present-day city of Iola in Allen County, Kansas, United States. Being the first town established in Allen County in 1855, it was the original county seat. However, within five years the greater part of the town was moved to the new town of Iola, while the old site of Cofachique became farm land. The town was named in honor of an Osage chief known as Cofachique, who is said to have been particularly helpful to early settlers, bringing aid to the distressed and homeless. The name "Cofachique" appears to have origins with the Cofachiqui tribe in South Carolina, who were Siouan speakers, and the Osage who settled this area were closely affiliated with the Siouan.
Carlyle is an unincorporated community in Allen County, Kansas, United States.
Petrolia is an unincorporated community in Allen County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Neosho River.
Geneva Township is one of twelve townships in Allen County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 119.
Rome was a short-lived postbellum frontier settlement in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. It is notable for its association with the early plains career of its co-founder, William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Rome was the first town established within the future Ellis County, followed very shortly by rival Hays City.
Municipalities and communities of Allen County, Kansas, United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| Footnotes | †This community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau. ‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |