Arkalon, Kansas

Arkalon is a ghost town in Seward County, Kansas, United States. It was located northeast of Liberal on the west side of the Cimarron River.

Arkalon, Kansas
Ghost Town
A pack train of burros in front of the bank in Arkalon (circa 1880-1899)
KDOT map of Seward County (legend)
Arkalon
Location within the state of Kansas
Coordinates: 37°8′35″N 100°48′27″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountySeward
Platted1888
Elevation2,618 ft (798 m)
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code620
FIPS code20-02290 [1]
GNIS ID484534 [1]

History

After the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built through the area in 1888, a townsite sprang up and platted in 1888.[2] The town was named Arkalon for Arkalon Tenny, the father of the first postmaster of the town.[3] A post office called Arkalon was established in 1888 and remained in operation until 1929.[4]

The Arkalon News newspaper was published from April 1888 until December 1892.[3] In 1891, a one-room school house was opened for children.[3][5] A large stockyard was erected for shipping cattle to market. While the nearby river held promise for the early settlers, they soon found that the bottom land next the Cimarron River was too sandy for farming and flooded too often. By the 1920s most of the early settlers had left, leaving only the railroad and stockyards behind.[3]

References
  1. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Arkalon, Kansas; United States Geological Survey (USGS); October 13, 1978.
  2. DeArment, Robert K. (2006). Ballots and Bullets: The Bloody County Seat Wars of Kansas. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-8061-3784-1.
  3. Sampson of the Cimarron and Arkalon history; rits.org
  4. "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  5. Photo of Arkalon Schoolhouse in Arkalon between 1910 and 1930; Kansas Historical Society.

Further reading
See also: List of books about Seward County, Kansas
Historical photos
Historical railroad trestle - "Samson of the Cimarron"
Maps


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