Xenia, Kansas Explained

Xenia, Kansas
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Image Map1:Map of Bourbon Co, Ks, USA.png
Map Caption1:KDOT map of Bourbon County (legend)
Coordinates:37.9953°N -94.9864°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Kansas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Bourbon
Subdivision Type3:Township
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1858
Established Title1:Platted
Unit Pref:Imperial
Elevation Ft:1047
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:620
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:20-80600
Blank1 Name:GNIS ID
Blank1 Info:474541

Xenia is an unincorporated area in Franklin Township, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States.

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.[1]

John Van Syckle and his father laid out Xenia's village plat in 1858.[2] The community was named after Xenia, Ohio.[3] The younger Van Syckle opened the village's first store, offering general merchandise.[1]

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.[4] As well as being Xenia's first merchant, John Van Syckle became Xenia's first postmaster.[5]

The first church building was built in 1876 by the Methodists.[1]

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.[1]

In 1910, Xenia had a money-order post office and population of 115.[6] Xenia Post Office closed Aug. 31, 1926.[7]

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

Geography

Located at an altitude of 1,047 feet (317 m), 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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: First Biennial Report, 1878, Bourbon County, Kansas . March 16, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130509104250/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1878/bourbon.shtml . May 9, 2013 .
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20021018231532/http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/bourbon/bourbon-co-p24.html kancoll.com
  3. News: Many Towns Have Disappeared (Note: Page loads on 9C due to technical constraints. Scroll to next page) . The Fort Scott Tribune . July 16, 1976 . 16 May 2015 . 10C.
  4. 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.
  5. http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/223977/page/8/ Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Memory records
  6. "Kansas, a cyclopedia of state history ..." Web site: Xenia - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912 . January 11, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110504211707/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/x/xenia.html . May 4, 2011 .
  7. 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.