Not Your Battle

Travel Tuesday: Nickletown, KS

If you know me at all, you know I have a passion for all things Kansas and Rural. I especially, love history and travel. The other day while hauling cattle to grass, CP took me to Nickeltown, he had told me about this town for years, but never had we,  "made the trip"

This is the only remaining building in Nickletown, The Nickeltown School.

When you google Nickeltown, KS the search comes back with usually two topics:  Nickeltown School or Nickeltown Cemetery.

Nickeltown is in Woodson County, KS. Through a little research I found this fun article called Every Man To Get Office in an old newspaper called the Stanstead Journal.

History Lesson:

The locals say that the school was the building that had a phone so if people broke down or needed something they would make their way to this building to make a call. Also, the oil industy and dericks around it are called, "The Nickeltown Development."

County: Woodson

Population: 0

Location:  Northwest Woodson Co, West of Hwy 75. Geographical Coordinates: 37.9964184,-95.8483214

Small exerpt from Chanute Daily Tribune January 21, 1915

A story in the K. C. Star of recent date recalled , old memories in Woodson county. The Star said: "The glory of Nickletown, Kas., is now like the glory that was Rome's gone. Time . was when Nickletown aspired to be the county seat pi Woodson county and 'to be rated .among the flourishing country towns of Kansas. But those aspirations, along with nearly all of Nickletown's population, have departed. Nickletown, however, refuses to relinquish its identity as a real town. It: is going to .hold a town election next spring and elect regular officers. There is one cheerful feature in it for the male residents of Nickletown all of them will get offices. There are now only four families left in the town. T. Q. Allen, Frank Willis, George Cowles and Oscar Mulsow are the men flow remaining. Cowles is at present police judge. He says that office suits him and he wants to keep it. The other three have agreed to let him have his little whim gratified. So the trio all plan to run for mayor and the two losers will constitute the town council. It's up to the women to cast the deciding vote as all three men say they will vote for themselves. Jt is considered likely that the man who treats his wife best in the time between now and election will stand the rosiest chance of getting to sign Mayor after his name. Nickletown is in the northeast part of Woodson county." Commenting on this the Neosho Fajls Post says: "It was probably thirty years ago that the. northwest corner of Woodson county was settled by a colon- of Menonites from Russia. As we remember it they had a town by the name of Nikkle- town. They built sod houses and livel in them until they were able to build more substantial ones.