White Rock 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'' ...
in
Republic County, Kansas, United States.
It is located 6 miles north of
Courtland.
History
Several attempts were made to settle the area,
but it wasn't until 1866 when
Thomas Lovewell Thomas Lovewell was an early settler of Republic and Jewell counties in the Kansas Territory. Lovewell Reservoir
Lovewell Reservoir is a reservoir in Jewell County, Kansas, Jewell County, Kansas, United States. Built and managed by the U.S. Bure ...
settled the town permanently. White Rock was formally laid out in 1871
and school began to be taught that same year.
It was considered a desirable location because of its land qualities.
The town was located on the west side of the
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains (United States), High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline ...
in the White Rock township about 14 miles northwest of
Belleville. It was the first settlement in the county west of the Republican River. In 1873 there were 3 general stores, a sawmill, a corn mill and a hotel.
In 1878 Republic County voters had the chance to approve $130,000 worth of bonds for the Kansas Pacific railway company to build a railroad line that would have extended from Clifton to the then-thriving towns of Seapo, Belleville and White Rock. County voters defeated the bond issue 1,126 to 850. In White Rock township, only two people voted in favor and 95 against. The last residents of White Rock related that city leaders believed their town was so prosperous that the railroad would build through their town whether or not they approved the bonds to help fund the connection.
As of 1912, there were no businesses and only about 30 people that resided in the location.
References
Further reading
External links
* Republic County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT
{{coord, 39, 53, 10, N, 97, 55, 56, W, type:city_region:US-KS_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title
Former populated places in Republic County, Kansas
Former populated places in Kansas