Vera, Kansas

Vera is a ghost town in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, United States.

Vera, Kansas
Ghost town
Vera, Kansas
Vera, Kansas
Coordinates: 39°04′01″N 96°05′42″W
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountyWabaunsee
Elevation
968 ft (295 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID484785[1]

The settlement was located next to Mill Creek, a tributary to the Kansas River. Vera was noted for its fertile agricultural land.[2]

History

Frederick L. Raymond was an early settler. When the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a line through the area in 1887, part of it ran through Raymond's farm. Raymond was influential in getting a flag station and post office named "Vera" erected at the location. The residents of Vera paid for a siding to be built, and donated 7 acres (2.8 ha) of land on which the flag station, as well as a platform and stock yard, were built. The railway was soon after acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. In 1893, residents of Vera filed a complaint with the Kansas Board of Railroad Commissioners, claiming the settlement needed a depot and additional storage facilities. They argued that because Vera was separated from its two neighboring rail stations at Paxico and Maple Hill by ranges of hills, it was difficult to haul grain and farm products to these places. The Railroad Commissioners ordered the railroad to erect a depot at Vera which could shelter passengers and protect local freight.[2][3][4]

Vera was noted as having a store, operated by John Verity.[3]

References were made in 1913 and 1939 to a school existing in Vera.[5][6]

In early 1920s, a steel bridge was built along Vera Road where it crossed Mill Creek north of the settlement. The bridge was replaced with a concrete bridge in 2004.[7]

Notable people

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Vera
  2. Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, State of Kansas, for the Year Ending December 1, 1894. Kansas Publishing House. 1895. pp. 55, 56.
  3. Thomson, Matt (1901). Early History of Wabaunsee County, Kansas, With Stories of Pioneer Days and Glimpses of Our Western Border. Alma, Kansas. pp. n40, n162, 150, 245.
  4. "Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway Company (CK&N #2) (Kansas)". Matt Willett. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  5. "All Over the County". The Alma Signal. February 13, 1913.
  6. "Vera School House in Wabaunsee County, Kansas". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  7. Hoots, Greg A. (2009). Wabaunsee County. Arcadia. p. 70. ISBN 9780738560779.
  8. Proceedings of the Senate of the State of Kansas. Hamilton Printing Company. 1893. p. 1.

Further reading
See also: List of books about Wabaunsee County, Kansas
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