Punkin Center: a former Reno County neighboorhood

There are no pumpkins in Punkin Center.

Never have been, says 85-year-old Anna Hill with a laugh, although she says she has considered taking a tire she painted orange, printing on it the words "Punkin Center" and putting it at the intersection of where this little neighborhood once existed.

  "I thought about putting that up so people at least know where it is," she said.

There are only five other states with a Punkin Center, including Texas, which has five or six. But this Reno County ghost town is the only one that shows up on a website dedicated to the nation's funniest named towns. There's nothing there anymore, except for an old garage that's falling down in the middle of a pasture, and Anna and Dalton Hill's home, which is just a half mile to the west.
Nevertheless, Anna Hill, who has lived in the same house since birth, said her memories are fond of the little stop in the road she calls home.

The neighborhood gathering spot used to have a few homes, a store/fueling station and a school. Now a few old outbuildings, including this old garage, are all that is left.
Punkin Center is located at the intersection of Illinois and Haven roads in Reno County.


Here's a link I found to another picture - it shows the old store before it was torn down. http://www.dispatchpressimages.com/press-photo/punkin-center_4f2be47109cfe107234233.html