Terra Cotta, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates: 38°44′30″N97°57′26″W / 38.74167°N 97.95722°W [1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Ellsworth |
| Elevation | 1,473 ft (449 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 785 |
| FIPS code | 20-70175 [1] |
| GNIS ID | 484797 [1] |
Terra Cotta is a ghost town in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. [1]
A post office was opened in Terra Cotta in 1878, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1913. [2]
Initially a shipping station for sand and clay in 1867, Terra Cotta was named for the red clay in the surrounding hills, "colored earth." The town of 15-20 people added a grocery store, elevator, lumber yard, and a hotel. A cheese factory and blacksmith shop were built, but the majority of the population (around 75 at the highest) were farmers and ranchers. The family of Charles Andrew Gill and Sylvania Headley Gill moved to Terra Cotta in the fall of 1880. The obituary of their son Delbert Franklin Gill states that he received his education at the Terra Cotta school. At a convenient location along the Kansas Pacific Railway in 1885, Terra Cotta housed several stockyards. And, between 1886 and 1912, more cattle were shipped from Terra Cotta and neighboring Brookville than from any other place between Kansas City and Denver. [3]
A series of hardships sealed the fate of this small town. The hotel was burned down by wildfire in 1887. A local recession drove many families and businesses away the next year. Although in population decline, the Union Pacific Railway built a new depot in 1900. By 1910, only 20 people lived in the town, and the post office closed in 1913.
Today, only the railroad tracks remain of the townsite, as the depot was moved to Ellsworth as part of a museum complex.
Ellsworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Ellsworth. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 6,376. The county was named after Fort Ellsworth.
Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,066. Known as a cow town in the 1870s, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad operated a stockyard here for shipping cattle to eastern markets, in the 21st century, it serves as the trading center of the rural county.
Kanopolis is a city in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 443. It was built on the site of Fort Harker, a United States Army post that housed infantry and cavalry troops involved in the Indian Wars from 1867 to 1872.
Wilson is a city in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. The community promotes itself as the "Czech Capital of Kansas" due to the role of Czech immigrant settlers in its early history. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 859.
Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,133 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Smoky Hill River is a 575-mile (925 km) river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.
Hot Springs is a ghost town in King County, Washington, United States. Properly Green River Hot Springs, the town was first settled under the name Kendon by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1886. Hot Springs was at one time home to a large sanatorium built around the natural hot springs in the area, and by 1907–1908 had a population of 225 with two doctors. The sanatorium was reported to have been an impressive facility, having nice suites, bowling alleys and pool tables. A 1904 envelope has a return address, "The Kloeber, J. S. Kloeber, M.D. Green River Hot Springs, Wash.". The area was also home to Harvey Dean's mill. By 1913–14 the town's population had dropped to 65, with no businesses mentioned. Evidence points to the fact that sometime before 1913–14 the sanatorium had burned down. By 1918, the town had virtually vanished, only being listed as a "Discontinued Post Office."
Fort Harker, located in Kanopolis, Kansas, was an active military installation of the United States Army from November 17, 1866, to October 5, 1872. The fortification was named after General Charles Garrison Harker, who was killed in action at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the American Civil War. Fort Harker replaced Fort Ellsworth, which had been located 1.6 km (0.99 mi) from the location of Fort Harker and was abandoned after the new fortifications at Fort Harker were constructed. Fort Harker was a major distribution point for all military points farther west and was one of the most important military stations west of the Missouri River.
Carneiro is an unincorporated community in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. It is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of Ellsworth, north of Mushroom Rock State Park and Kanopolis Lake.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Ellsworth County, Kansas.
Terra Cotta is a former mining town in Riverside County. It was established in 1887, in the Warm Springs Valley northwest of the town of Lake Elsinore, and later incorporated into the City of Lake Elsinore.
Alberhill is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, California. Alberhill is located 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northwest of Lake Elsinore. It lies at an elevation of 1234 feet. Alberhill was named after C.H. Albers and James and George Hill.
Carnegie was a town in Corral Hollow, in San Joaquin County, California from 1902 to about 1915.
Kanopolis Lake is a reservoir in Ellsworth County in the Smoky Hills of central Kansas, about 31 miles southwest of Salina and a few miles southeast of the town of Kanopolis. The lake is formed by Kanopolis Dam. Completed in 1948 as a flood control and water conservation project of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the dam impounds the Smoky Hill River.
The Missoula station in Missoula, Montana, was built by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1901. The current structure is the third depot built in Missoula by the Northern Pacific, which reached Missoula in 1883. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, as the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot.
K-141 is a 13.47-mile-long (21.68 km) north–south state highway in Ellsworth County in central Kansas. The highway connects K-4 west of Marquette and K-140 northeast of Carneiro with Kanopolis Lake. The entire length of K-141 is a part of the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway, which was designated to highlight the history, culture, and nature of the area. The highway is a two-lane road its entire length.
Langley is an unincorporated community in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Kanopolis Lake.
Venango is an unincorporated community in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Kanopolis Lake.
Studley is an unincorporated community in Sheridan County, Kansas, United States, approximately 16 miles east of Hoxie along U.S. Route 24. It is on the eastern edge of the county in Valley Township, bordering Graham County. It was named after the Studley Royal Park, in England.
Yankee Run is an unincorporated community in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Kanopolis Lake.
Municipalities and communities of Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
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