Extinct Towns in Ellis County, Kansas - History and Information

Extinct Towns of Ellis County, Kansas

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Chetolah

Rome

Smoky Hill City

Vincent

Yocemento

More Extinct Towns

Ellis County, 1867, Alexander Gardner.

Chetolah - Anticipating a railroad being built through the area, the town was founded in 1886 by a Topekan named Thomas Fulgum, who made a number of investments in Ellis County. In 1887, a hotel was built, along with a store, a grain elevator, and a couple of dwellings. Fulgum, who was a horse racing fan, also built a horse track between two barns. The town was officially incorporated in 1888 by the Chetolah Land and Town Company. By the late 1880's; however, it appeared that the area would not gain a railroad and most of the townsfolk began to leave. Fulgum eventually lost his investment and left the area.

In the 1890's, Chetolah would come to life again when rumors of gold being found in the shale of the Smoky Hill River began to circulate. Two more towns would also be established in the immediate area -- Smoky Hill City in 1899 and Gold Mill in 1894. The hotel was reopened and a bridge was built from the mining site at Smoky Hill City into Chetolah. Soon, miners were crawling along the river beds in search of the precious metal and two gold mills -- the Close and Holliday, would operate in the area for three years, but show very little profit. Though gold and zinc was found in very small amounts, the cost proved far to much. For a few more years, miners scrambled up and down the river looking for the Mother Lode, but would be disappointed. The Ellis County gold boom sputtered along from 1895 to 1903, by which time most everyone realized that there was no gold in the shale.

The town was soon abandoned and the lumber from the gold mill and the hotel was hauled six miles to Antonino to help build the church. The only remnant today is a part of the old bridge. Chetolah was located approximately 12 miles southwest of Hays on the south bank of the Smoky Hill River.

Rome - The first settlement to be formed after Ellis County was officially organized, Rome got its start when the Lull brothers of Salina established a general store on the west side of Big Creek, a little north of where the Kansas Pacific Railroad would soon come through the county. By the middle of June, 1867 several houses had been built. One of the town’s co-founders was Buffalo Bill Cody, who along with his partner, William Rose, expected the city to be the metropolis of the county and they would make quite a profit from the sale of lots.

Early in June, Bloomfield, Moses & Co. established a general supply store, and later Joseph Perry built the two-story Perry Hotel. With the Kansas Pacific Railroad laying track in the area and employing some 1,200 men, the town grew quickly and by the end of July, the fledgling settlement boasted over 2,000 citizens. These railroad men, along with soldiers, and buffalo hunters, provided ample customers for the many saloons and gambling halls that quickly sprang up.

Rome Kansas historical marker Cody and Rose; however, would make a fatal mistake when they refused to take on a man named Dr. W.C. Webb as a partner in their town site venture. Unknown to them, Webb had the authority to establish town sites for the railroad, and when Cody and Rose refused him, he established the Big Creek Land Company, which platted the town of Hays City, on the other side of Big Creek about a mile east of Rome. A rivalry at once sprang up between the two places, but the railroad company threw its support to Hays City and Buffalo Bill Cody and William Rose were soon giving free lots away to anyone willing to build or erect a tent in the town. Despite their promotional efforts, many of the citizens and businesses of Rome soon moved to nearby Hays City to be closer to the railroad. When a cholera epidemic hit Rome in the late summer of 1867, any who remained, including Cody and Rose, left. A year later there was nothing left of the town. Ironically, when the Ellis County was officially organized and Hays City made the county seat, William Rose would become one of its first commissioners. Today, the only thing left of Rome is a historical marker.

Smoky Hill City - Back in the late 19th century, gold was on everyone's minds when Charles Holliday and his railroad magnate father, Cyrus K. Holliday, believed that the Smoky Hill River area of Ellis County contained valuable mineral deposits. The idea that the shale along the Smoky Hill River contained ore started in the mid-1800s as a swindle by Native Americans who said that they knew of tin mines along the river and in the 1890s, prospectors found ore bearing low percentages of zinc in areas of Ellis and adjacent Trego Counties.

Several towns were formed during Kansas illustrious "gold rush."

Sure that there might be gold in "them thar hills," Charles Holliday bought land on the north bank of the Smoky Hill River to build a town he believed would become center of Kansas' first gold rush. A townsite was platted and filed in 1899 and Holliday immediately began selling lots. Some of the first residents came from nearby Chetolah, also now an extinct town, just across the Smoky Hill River and a post office opened in 1900.

Two gold mills -- the Close and Holliday, would operate in the area for three years, but showed very little profit. Though gold and zinc was found in very small amounts, the cost proved far to much. For a few more years, miners scrambled up and down the river looking for the Mother Lode, but would be disappointed. The Ellis County gold boom sputtered along from 1895 to 1903, by which time most everyone realized that there was no gold in the shale.

Charles Holliday abandoned the townsite in 1905, but the settlement continued to survive for several more years. In 1910 it had a population of 75, but people continued to leave and in 1915, its post office closed its doors forever. Nothing remains of the town today. It was located approximately 12 miles southwest of Hays.

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