Codell is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Rooks County, Kansas Rooks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Stockton, and its largest city is Plainville. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,919. The county was named for John Rooks, a private in Compa ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49.

History

Codell was established as a

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

depot Depot may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Glacier (disambiguation) * Depot Island (disambiguation) * Depot Nunatak * Depot Peak Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Chicago, United States * Of ...

in 1887. Union Pacific could not reach agreement with the town of

Motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

, so Union Pacific established the community of Codell three-quarters of a mile west of Motor. The Motor Post Office, originally established as Floreyville in 1875, was moved to Codell in 1888. The frame buildings in Motor were moved to Codell and Motor was soon abandoned. Early in its history Codell had a school, multiple churches and a business district with a bank, telephone central office, lumber yard, grain elevator, several stores, a doctor and a barber.

Tornadoes

Codell is notable for its

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

history which earned it a mention in ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

''. The community was hit by tornadoes on May 20 in three consecutive years: 1916, 1917 and 1918. The 1916 tornado, estimated at F2 intensity, passed east of Codell in the early evening. The 1917 tornado reached F3 intensity and passed west of Codell, also in the early evening. In 1918, Codell took a direct hit from an F4 tornado just after dark. The school, M. E. church, hotel and several residences were completely destroyed. Many more buildings were badly damaged. Although the school was rebuilt and a new high school was built in 1938, the town never fully recovered from the devastation of the 1918 tornado.

Geography

Codell lies in Township 12 south of the city of Stockton (the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Rooks County) and near the southeastern corner of Rooks County. The community lies along the banks of Paradise Creek and an abandoned railroad line. The nearest city, Plainville, lies approximately away to the northwest by road; the community is connected via 24 Road to a state highway, K-18, which lies approximately to the north.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census counted 49 people, 16 households, and 11 families in Codell. The population density was 65.2 per square mile (25.2/km). There were 23 housing units at an average density of 30.6 per square mile (11.8/km). The racial makeup was 95.92% (47)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(95.92%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 0.0% (0)

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.0% (0) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.0% (0) Asian, 0.0% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 0.0% (0) from other races, and 4.08% (2) from

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

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or Latino of any race was 0.0% (0) of the population. Of the 16 households, 18.8% had children under the age of 18; 56.2% were married couples living together; 25.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.2% of households consisted of individuals and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.2. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 53.1% of the population. 16.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 14.3% from 18 to 24, 16.3% from 25 to 44, 40.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 105.0 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $73,512 (with a margin of error of +/- $5,277) and the median family income was $73,512 (+/- $5,277). Males had a median income of $41,071 (+/- $9,669). The median income for those above 16 years old was $40,536 (+/- $2,397).

Education

Codell is served by

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

270 Plainville Schools. Codell High School was closed through school unification in 1965. The Codell High School mascot was Codell Cougars.

Arts and culture

Points of Interest

* Cyclone Day Memorial constructed in 2018 and dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the last May 20 cyclone. * Historic limestone school and Cougar Gymnasium constructed in 1938 as a WPA project. * Church building constructed in 1908. The building withstood the tornadoes of 1916, 1917 and 1918. * King Hill located four miles south of Codell on Codell Road. The picturesque view of the Saline Valley from King Hill was used in the closing scene of the movie Paper Moon. The Romine house, that was located in the Saline Valley, was the setting of Aunt Billie's home in the movie. The Paper Moon fight scene with Moses Pray (

Ryan O'Neal Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal (April 20, 1941 – December 8, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ...

) and Leroy (

Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor and comedian known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in '' The ...

) was set at the Clair farm also in the Saline Valley near Codell.

References

External links

Rooks County

* Rooks County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Authority control Census-designated places in Rooks County, Kansas 1887 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1887