De Graff 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 ...

Butler County, Kansas Butler County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas and is the largest county in the state by total area. Its county seat is El Dorado and its most populous city is Andover. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 67,380. The ...

, United States. It is located on

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...

, approximately north of

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

( Kansas Turnpike)

History

In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from

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 ...

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 � ...

,''Marion County Kansas : Past and Present''; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972. and a station called De Graff was built. In 1881, the rail line was extended to Douglass, then later to Arkansas City. The line was leased and operated by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

. The line from Florence] through Burns to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942.Railway Abandonment 1942
/ref> The original branch line connected Florence through El Dorado to Arkansas City. De Graff was founded around a train station in 1877, then stagnated after the railroad was abandoned in 1942. De Graff had a post office from 1887 until 1942.

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, De Graff 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 De Graff, Kansas
/ref>

Education

The community is served by El Dorado USD 490 public school district.

Infrastructure

highway runs north–south on the east side of De Graff, and follows roughly parallel to the old railway.

References

External links

Walter's Pumpkin Patch
0.5 mile south of De Graff Unincorporated communities in Butler County, Kansas Unincorporated communities in Kansas {{ButlerCountyKS-geo-stub