5 of the Oldest Incorporated Towns in Kansas

When the territory we now know as Kansas opened to settlement in 1854, few could have predicted that, just a few years later, it would become home to so many lively communities. But the first towns founded here in those early years weren’t without their struggles. Settlers brought with them religious, political, and cultural differences that sometimes bubbled up into chaos and conflict.

As time passed, though, the characteristics that so define the state today - a strong sense of community, hospitality, and friendliness - worked their way to the forefront, spurred on as rapidly growing towns began incorporating. Visit these historic towns today, and you’ll enjoy some of the most authentic small-town travel experiences in the country.

Leavenworth

One of the first two proper towns to be established in the Kansas Territory (it was founded on the exact same day as Atchison, see below), Leavenworth, in fact, was the first incorporated city in the state. Founded in 1854 on the site of a former fort, its charter, granted a year later, cemented its position as one of the most important trading centers on the new frontier. And it grew fast. Within just six months, 100 buildings had been erected to serve its population of over 400 residents.

Leavenworth soon became the eastern freight terminus along the Missouri River and was used as a staging post to outfit wagon trains bound for places further west. With prosperity came several unique businesses, including a manufacturer of fairground carousels. Now, the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, a downtown attraction, features one of the country’s finest collections of antique carousels, many made here in the late 1800s.

Another blast from the past, the Carroll Mansion is an elegant Italianate residence built in 1858 that provides a fascinating peek into the town’s early prosperity. Guided tours of its interior include original furnishings and Victorian-era decorative arts. Fort Leavenworth, the country’s oldest still active military installation (it was established in 1827), is home to the Frontier Army Museum with its displays of westward expansion.

Atchison

Rivalling Leavenworth for the title of the earliest incorporated town in Kansas (the two towns were made official in the same month in August, 155), Atchison grew rapidly around its busy Missouri River steamboat landing. The town’s prosperity peaked from 1870 to 1900 when several important industries set up shop, including what was to become one of the state’s biggest factories. Established in 1872 (and now Vulcan Metals), the John Seaton Foundry occupied an entire city block and employed 2,000 workers by 1894.

Atchison is also where you’ll find the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum. A modest (and cute) house built in 1861, the museum features displays of family artifacts, aviation memorabilia, and photographs documenting Earhart's childhood in Atchison.

The much grander Muchnic Art Gallery, set in a mansion dating from 1885, features works by local artists and provides a picture of the town’s early prosperity. Other historic highlights include Benedictine College, walkable from downtown Atchison and featuring several fine examples of Gothic Revival architecture.

Hiawatha

Incorporated in 1857, the town of Hiawatha was named after the Onondaga and Mohawk leader celebrated in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous 1855 poem, The Song of Hiawatha. Selected for settlement for its strategic location along the Oregon Trail, the settlement attracted farmers as well as merchants serving the ever-increasing numbers of westward travelers.

Head to Oregon Street in downtown Hiawatha, and you’ll be treading the same route that settlers would have taken as they headed west. Historic highlights here include the majestic Brown County Courthouse, constructed in the early 1900s with a pretty clock tower and looking not unlike a European palace. The Davis Memorial at Mount Hope Cemetery, completed in 1935 to the east of downtown, includes 11 impressive life-sized marble statues worth checking out.

If you can, try to time a visit for the autumn. Nicknamed the "City of Beautiful Maples" due to the many maple trees that line its streets, fall sees Hiawatha burst into color. You can even visit the town’s original maple tree, known as the town’s parent tree, with its seedlings still distributed to residents.

Council Grove

Although Council Grove was officially incorporated in 1858, the community's history goes back to the 1825 treaty between U.S. commissioners and Osage Nation chiefs. Negotiated under a grove of hardwood trees in what is now the town of Council Grove, the treaty secured passage rights for the Santa Fe Trail through Osage territory.

The grove of trees that gave the town its name also served another important role: it provided essential resources for travelers along the Santa Fe Trail. Wagon trains stopped to cut timber for repairs, livestock were rested and watered, and supplies were purchased for the 150-mile journey across often unforgiving prairies.

You can learn more about the town’s historic significance at the Kaw Methodist Mission. Established in 1851 as a school for indigenous children, it’s now a museum operated by the Kansas Historical Society with exhibits about mission life and the tragic forced removal of the Kaw people to Indian Territory in 1873.

And that famous Council Oak? While the tree itself no longer stands, a section of its trunk is displayed downtown under a protective shelter. If you’ve time for a stroll, head to the Neosho Riverwalk with its trails and fishing spots along the very same river that attracted early settlers to Council Grove.

Fort Scott

Although laid out as a town in 1857, Fort Scott had to wait three years before receiving its official city charter. The community grew around the fort, established in 1842 to protect the frontier, but abandoned 11 years later when the army moved west to Fort Riley.

Today, Fort Scott National Historic Site preserves 20 original structures from the original military post in the downtown core. Guided tours through restored officers' quarters, barracks, a hospital, and other buildings provide an authentic slice of life from the past. The attraction also runs fun demonstrations of military life on the frontier, as well as classes in baking and traditional frontier foods and candlelight tours.

Make sure you allocate time to explore historic downtown Fort Scott, too. Highlights include the Courtland Hotel, built in 1906 with its original Edwardian façade intact. You can learn even more about the town’s early years at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. Documenting the lives of ordinary people who made extraordinary contributions, exhibits focus on things like abolitionists and civil rights pioneers in Kansas.

Kansas's Oldest Towns are Ready to be Explored

The oldest incorporated towns in Kansas are a must-visit. And as major players in America’s westward expansion, there’s no end of fascinating histories to check out. From Leavenworth's river trade roots to Council Grove's place on the Santa Fe Trail, each of these wonderful small towns has had a significant impact on the Kansas we know and love today.