Towns and Places in Ellis County, Kansas

Towns & Places of Ellis County, Kansas

Ellis County, Kansas 1889 map

Ellis County map, 1899.

Towns and Places

Antonino (unincorporated)

Catharine (unincorporated)

Hays (County seat)
Ellis

Fort Hays

Fort Hays State University

Munjor (unincorporated)

Pfeifer (unincorporated)
Schoenchen

Victoria
Walker (unincorporated)

Extinct Towns

Museums & Historic Sites

Antonino - Located in the Smoky Hill Valley about eight miles southwest of Hays, Antonino was established in 1904 after parishioners of St. Francis Church in Munjor requested a new parish due to the distance from their homes. Its residents wanted to name it St. Anthony, but, when they went to establish a post office, the name was denied because of a town in Harper County named Anthony. Antonino was chosen after a village that some of the pioneers had lived in while in Brazil, and a post office was established in May, 1905. Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, a frame building, was built in 1904-1905. Antonino never grew much, but a school was built in 1939 and maintaining its parish congregation, a new brick church was built in 1951-52. Though Antonino is still called home to a few people, its post office closed its doors forever in February, 1884. The church still serves parishioners today. Antonino is located about 8 miles southwest of Hays.

Munjor - Another of the many villages in Ellis County that was settled by German-Russian immigrants, they first arrived in Herzog (Victoria) in August, 1876. They then established a small village along Big Creek before moving a couple of months later to the present location. They soon organized the Munjor Land Company, a town site was surveyed, and each lot holder became a member of the company.

More immigrants joined them over the next couple of years. The residents built the St. Francis Catholic Church -- a small frame building in 1877, to which they added on to several years later. In September, 1881, the tiny community got a post office.

Munjor, Kansas courtesy Germans From Russia.

In 1882, the Munjor Land Company was replaced with the Munjor Town and Grazing Company, which required that no portion of the land holdings could be burdened with debt, transferred, or sold without the consent of two-thirds of the shareholders. The organization was unsuccessful; however, as disputes erupted that split the village into two factions. After a futile attempt to settle matters in the courts, the company was dissolved. In 1889, the frame church was replaced by a more substantial stone building which was dedicated the next year. Over the years, it was enlarged. A parochial school building was also built in the late 1800s that was later used by the Hays public school system. By 1910, Munjor's population was about 100, but evidently fell over the next decade as the post office was closed in 1919.

Unfortunately the church was destroyed by a fire in February, 1932. However, reconstruction soon began and it was soon restored. However, the steeple was never replaced. The village obviously saw a growth spurt in the 1930s as it once again obtained a post office in May, 1936. Its life; however was short. Five years later, in September, 1941, it closed its doors forever. The St. Francis Catholic Church continues to serve parishioners today and the old parochial school building is now utilized as a parish hall. The village is located about seven miles southeast of Hays, Kansas.

St Anthony Church and parochial school in Schoenchen,

Kathy Weiser, March, 2009.

Schoenchen - Another of the several villages established by Volga German immigrants, Schoenchen got its start when a conflict arose among the first settlers of Liebenthal, in Rush County. When several proposed moving the Liebenthal to another location that had a better water supply, it split the group, and part of them moved out of the county altogether, settling in what would become Schoenchen. The town was originally called San Antonio, but several of the settlers wanted it to be named after their villages in Russia -- Schoenchen and Neu-Obermonjour. As a compromise, they named their new village Schoenchen, and the church was named for the patron saint of the church in Neu-Obermonjour, St. Anthony.

The settlers built their first small stone church in 1880, but when the foundation settled badly after a heavy rain, they abandoned it. It was replaced by a frame structure in 1881 and in 1900 they began building the large stone St. Anthony's Church which continues to stand today. It was dedicated on June 13, 1901. The tiny village finally obtained a post office in 1902. In 1916, a new stone parochial school was built and placed in charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1917, the population must have fallen as Schoenchen's post office was closed. However, the city voted bonds for the building of a new high school in 1926. The town once again gained a post office in May, 1938, which remains open today, serving a community of about 215 people.

This 1920 business building in Schoenchen is long

closed, Kathy Weiser, March, 2009.

Compiled by Kathy Weiser/Legends of Kansas, updated April, 2010.

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