Woodsdale is a ghost town in Stevens County, Kansas, United States.[1] It was involved in a county seat war with Hugoton during the 19th century.

Woodsdale, Kansas
KDOT map of Stevens County (legend)
Woodsdale is located in Kansas
Woodsdale
Woodsdale
Woodsdale is located in the United States
Woodsdale
Woodsdale
Coordinates: 37°16′21″N 101°18′34″W / 37.27250°N 101.30944°W / 37.27250; -101.30944[1]
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountyStevens
Founded1886
Named forSamuel Wood
Elevation3,113 ft (949 m)
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code620
GNIS ID482630 [1]
Plat of Woodsdale, c. 1887

History edit

Woodsdale was laid out in 1886 near the geographical center of the county, with the hope of locating the county seat there.[2]

Samuel Newitt Wood and I. C. Price developed the town and it was named after the former. Its post office was established November 11, 1886,[3] and the town incorporated April 11. 1887. Following the bloody county seat contest in which the governor had to send in two National Guard companies, and which Woodsdale lost to Hugoton, Woodsdale declined. The post office closed March 31, 1915,[3] and there are now no traces of the town remaining. It was located two miles east of Hugoton and six miles north at the intersections of sections 11, 12, 13, & 14.

Notable person edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Woodsdale, Kansas; United States Geological Survey (USGS); October 13, 1978.
  2. ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 934.
  3. ^ a b "Post Offices in Stevens County Kansas, 1828-1961". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved May 19, 2008.

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