Plum Grove is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

Butler County, Kansas Butler County (county code BU) is a county in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas and is the largest county in the state by total area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 67,380. Its county seat is El Dorado and its m ...

, United States. It was located in a rural area north of modern-day Potwin. No buildings remain at this former community site.

History

A post office named Plum Grove was established on July 1, 1870 in northwest

.Plum Grove; Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961; Kansas Historical Society.
/ref> The postmaster (and landowner) was John R. Wentworth and the post office was named for the established plum bushes near his homestead. This post office was located next to the East Branch of the Whitewater River near the modern day intersection of NW 110th Street and NW Buffalo Road. Over the next 2 years, some businesses were started at Plum Grove. On October 7, 1872 a county election passed funding bonds for a proposed railroad through the Whitewater River valley. The route was close to Plum Grove, so it was decided to move the tiny community west to ensure it would be next to the future railroad. Unfortunately, the financial

panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

caused the rail project to be abandoned. Though it was a setback, the community continued to grow while it kept trying to get a rail depot. At its peak, Plum Grove had a maximum population of 60 or 100 (depending on source), several general stores, drug store, tree nursery, boarding house, blacksmith shop / livery barn / hog pens, saw mill, and a community water well.''Plum Grove, Brainerd, Whitewater, and Potwin from 1870 to 1900''
Roland H. Ensz; Emporia State University; 1970. In the spring of 1885, the McPherson branch of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

was built east/west a few miles south of Plum Grove. Again a railroad failed to route through Plum Grove, then the community started to dissolve. Merchants, houses, people moved over time to one of the nearby new communities of Brainerd or Potwin, and a small number to

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

and Peabody. In 1887, the

Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (originally ''Railroad'') was formed in 1885 with Marcus Low, a former attorney for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, as its president. The CRI&P advanced the CK&N about twenty-five million do ...

was built north/south about 5 miles west of Plum Grove, and it was the "

final straw ''Final Straw'' is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the ...

". The post office closed on October 31, 1888 and most lots were vacated by 1889. Afterward, the rural school was the only thing that remained. A new school was rebuilt at the site in 1895 and it served until 1955 when it was discontinued and the building was moved. The school water well was filled in the late 1960s, thus erasing the last evidence of Plum Grove.Plum Grove, Kansas: The Rise and Demise; Jerrol Kim Claassen; Kansas State University; 1982. Today, it is active farmland.

Geography

Plum Grove was located at the modern day intersection of NW 110th Street and NW Santa Fe Lake Road in northwest

, which is 3 miles north and 1 mile west of modern-day Potwin. It sits on the shared township boundary of Plum Grove and

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

Education

The modern day rural area around Plum Grove is served by the

Remington USD 206 Remington USD 206 is a public unified school district headquartered in Whitewater, Kansas, United States. Depending on the historic use, it may also have the word "Whitewater" either before or after "Remington". The district includes the commun ...

public school district, and the rural

Frederic Remington High School Frederic Remington High School is a rural public high school located north of Brainerd, Kansas between Whitewater and Potwin at NW Meadowlark Rd and NW 90th St. It is one of three schools operated by Remington USD 206 public school district. Th ...

is about 4 miles south of the former Plum Grove.

Notable people

* Daniel McCurdy Elder (1844-1923), 1889 Kansas House of Representative, saw mill owner/operator (Plum Grove and other sites along Whitewater River), stone quarry owner (east of El Dorado). * Frederic Sackrider Remington (1861-1909),

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

artist, sheep rancher. In 1883 to 1884, he owned a ranch north of Plum Grove. The south edge of it was located 2 miles north then 0.5 to 1.5 miles west. Initially his ranch started as 160 acres then later expanded to 320 acres. Many text describe the location of his ranch near Peabody, because it was the closest railroad depot during that era. He spent free time in both communities. A monument dedicated to Remington is located at the nearby

.Remington Rock monument; Frederic Remington High School.
/ref>

References

External links

''My Ranch''
Frederic Remington, 1883 watercolor of his ranch near Plum Grove.
Frederic Remington Area Historical Society
* Butler County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Butler County, Kansas Ghost towns in Kansas 1870 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1870