Christian, a McPherson County Dead Town

Christian is located a mile south of Moundridge.

In 1874, the first wave of Mennonites immigrated to Kansas in search of religious freedom.

It was about that same time that Mennonites Christian Krehbiel, Daniel Krehbiel, Christian Hirschler, and Christian Voran migrated to the United States and purchased land in McPherson County, the corners joining at a site they dubbed Christian, according to the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

Meanwhile, according to “Century One: History of Moundridge, Kansas, 1887-1987,” a man named Christian Stuckie also owned land in the vicinity, as well as Christian Hirschler’s wife, Katherine.

Elmo, Kansas - A Dickinson County Dead Town

Elmo is located in Dickinson County. I have a personal connection to Elmo, as my great grandparents and my great-great grandparents are buried here. They farmed between Elmo and Carlton, a dwindling town to the west. My father said my great grandfather, probably around the age of 9, would take water to the workers building the railroad through Elmo, or what was then Banner City. They gave him tobacco for his efforts.

Bell tower at St. Columba Catholic Church in Elmo

Once called Banner City, the cemetery still holds the name.