Wonsevu is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in southwestern

Chase County, Kansas Chase County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Cottonwood Falls. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,572. The county was named for Salmon Chase, a U.S. Senator from ...

, United States. It is located at the intersection of Cedar Creek and E Roads, which is north of the Chase-Butler county line and east of the Chase-Marion county line in the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region of hills and prairies that lie mostly in eastern Kansas. It is named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surfa ...

History

Early history

For many

millennia A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting p ...

, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

was inhabited by

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

claimed ownership of large parts of

. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

for 2.83 cents per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. In 1854, the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

was organized, then in 1861

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

became the 34th

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

. In 1859, Chase County was established within the

, which included the land for modern day Wonsevu. A post office existed in Wonsevu from August 23, 1875 to October 15, 1907.

21st century

The town today is almost a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, with only a vacant church, school, two vacant houses, and several ruins left.

Geography

Wonsevu is located at (38.1508506, -96.7722418), in the scenic

of the

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Wonsevu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Wonsevu, Kansas
/ref>

Education

Wonsevu is served by Peabody–Burns USD 398 public school district. All students attend schools in Peabody at two schools: *

Peabody-Burns Junior/Senior High School Peabody-Burns Junior/Senior High School is a public secondary school in Peabody, Kansas, United States. It is the sole high school operated by Peabody–Burns USD 398 school district. It serves students of grades 7 to 12 in the communities o ...

, located in Peabody.
Peabody-Burns Elementary School
located in Peabody.

Media

Print

* ''

Peabody Gazette-Bulletin The ''Peabody Gazette-Bulletin'' is a local weekly newspaper for the cities of Peabody, Burns, Florence in the state of Kansas. The paper publishes every Wednesday. The newspaper also maintains an online presence. History The ''Peabody Gazett ...

'', local newspaper for Burns,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Peabody. * ''

The El Dorado Times ''The Butler County Times-Gazette'' is an American daily newspaper published in El Dorado, Kansas. The paper covers several communities in northern and eastern Butler County, Kansas, part of the Wichita metropolitan area. In addition to El Dorad ...

'', regional newspaper from

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

. * ''

The Newton Kansan ''The Newton Kansan'' is an American newspaper published three days per week (excluding major holidays) in Newton, Kansas. It is owned by CherryRoad Media. The paper covers Harvey County, including the cities of Newton, Burrton, Halstead, He ...

'', regional newspaper from

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

Infrastructure

Utilities

* Internet ** Satellite Internet is provided by

HughesNet Hughes Network Systems, LLC is an American telecommunications company that specializes in providing satellite-based communication services for consumer and enterprise markets. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite ...

StarBand StarBand was a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available in the U.S. from 2000–2015. StarBand ceased operations effective September 30, 2015 citing increased competition from other internet providers. The StarBand satellite Internet ...

WildBlue Viasat, Inc. (formerly stylized as ViaSat) is an American communications company based in Carlsbad, California, with additional operations across the United States and worldwide. Viasat is a provider of high-speed satellite broadband services an ...

. * TV ** Satellite TV is provided by

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

. ** Free over-the-air ATSC

digital TV Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adv ...

References

External links

Chase County website

Topo Map of Wonsevu area
USGS {{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Kansas Unincorporated communities in Chase County, Kansas