Battles of Cabin Creek

Xenia (/ˈzniə/ ZEE-nee-ə) is an unincorporated area in Franklin Township, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States.[1]

History

Settling in the Xenia area in 1856, the year after Bourbon County was organized in 1855, were John Van Syckle, Samuel Stephenson and Charles Anderson.[2]

John Van Syckle and his father laid out Xenia's village plat in 1858.[3] The community was named after Xenia, Ohio.[4] The younger Van Syckle opened the village's first store, offering general merchandise.[2]

Xenia gained a post office on November 29, 1858, when the Peru (Linn County) post office was moved to Xenia. Peru, which is now a ghost town, had a post office from August 5 to November 29, 1858.[5] As well as being Xenia's first merchant, John Van Syckle became Xenia's first postmaster.[6]

The first church building was built in 1876 by the Methodists.[2]

In 1878, Franklin township was Bourbon County's fourth-most populous, at 1,474. The county seat of Fort Scott had 5,081 residents. Scott Township had 2,036. Marion Township, just south of Franklin in the county's west end, had 1,676.[2]

In 1910, Xenia had a money-order post office and population of 115.[7] Xenia Post Office closed Aug. 31, 1926.[8]

Currently, it consists of a few houses, no businesses or service.

Geography

Located at an altitude of 1,047 feet (317 m),[1] it lies in Bourbon County's northwest corner, along K-65, west of the confluence of the Little Osage River and Limestone Creek, about 18 miles northwest of Fort Scott.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Xenia, Kansas
  2. ^ a b c d "First Biennial Report, 1878, Bourbon County, Kansas". Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  3. ^ kancoll.com
  4. ^ "Many Towns Have Disappeared (Note: Page loads on 9C due to technical constraints. Scroll to next page)". The Fort Scott Tribune. July 16, 1976. pp. 10C. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  5. ^ Robert W. Baughman's Kansas Post Offices, May 29, 1828-August 3, 1961, published by the Kansas Postal History Society, an affiliate of the Kansas Historical Society.
  6. ^ http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/223977/page/8/ Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Memory records
  7. ^ "Kansas, a cyclopedia of state history ..." "Xenia - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912". Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  8. ^ Robert W. Baughman's Kansas Post Offices, May 29, 1828-August 3, 1961, published by the Kansas Postal History Society, an affiliate of the Kansas Historical Society.

Further reading

External links