History

Organized in 1864.  County seat, Erie.  The county was originally called Dorn (see Labette), and changed in 1861 to Neosho, after the river which traverses the county from northwest to southeast.  The name was given to the river by the Osages.   Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Neosho County

                 2000
  Year  Elev  Population Name              ZIP
  ====  ====  ========== ================ =====
  1873   950       9,411 Chanute          66720
         960          80 Earlton
         925       1,211 Erie             66733
        1000         150 Galesburg        66740
         929             Hayden
        1040             Kimball
         903             Morehead
        1032             Odense
         911             Rollin
  1847   897         646 St. Paul         66771
         920             Shaw
         980             South Mound
        1050         106 Stark            66775
        1033         500 Thayer           66776
         955             Urbana

Special Places in Neosho County

• The old Santa Fe Depot in Chanute has been restored and now houses both the city library and the Safari Museum. It has a nice (free) shop and restrooms.
• Santa Fe locomotive #762 is in the city park in the southern part of Chanute.
• The Canville Trading post was at the site of the town of Shaw. There is a stone marker on the grounds of the simple white frame church there.

Libraries

• Chanute Public Library   (620) 431-3820
  111 N. Lincoln, Chanute, KS 66720
• Erie City Public Library   (620) 244-5119
  204 S. Butler, Erie, KS 66733
• Graves Memorial Public Library
  P. O. Box 354, St. Paul, KS 66771
• Thayer City Library
  100 N. Preston Street, P. O. Box 36 / Thayer, KS 66776

Museums

• The Martin & Osa Johnson Safari Museum   (620) 431-2730
  111 N. Lincoln Ave / Chanute, KS 66720
  Artifacts, photos, and mementos of the famous 1930s world travellers and explorers.
• Osage Mission - Neosho County Museum   (620) 449-2320
  203 Washington Street / Saint Paul, KS 66771
  The Osage Mission was one of the very early settlements in Kansas (1847) and played a large part in the settlement of Southeast Kansas and other areas in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Neosho County School Systems

• USD 101 Erie,   (620) 244-3264,   Erie, St. Paul, Thayer, and Galesburg
• USD 413 Chanute Public Schools,   (620) 431-4650, Chanute

Colleges & Universities

• Neosho County Community College   (620) 431-2820
  800 West 14th Street / Chanute, KS 66720

Hospitals

• Neosho Regional Medical Center   (620) 431-4000
  629 S. Plummer, Chanute, KS 66720

Newspapers

• Chanute Tribune   (620) 431-4100
  15 N. Evergreen / Mail: Box 559, Chanute, KS 66720
• The Erie Record   (620) 244-3371
  317 S. Main, Erie, KS 66733

More Data About Neosho County

Genealogy

• Neosho County KSGenWeb

References

• WPA. The WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, reprint 1984) See tour 12, pages 489-490

Neosho County Offices

• Neosho County   (800) 498-1008
  100 S. Main, Erie, KS 66733
• Extension Service   (620) 244-3826
  100 S. Main - Courthouse, Erie,KS 66733-1301

For more about Neosho County contact:

• Chanute Chamber of Commerce   (620) 431-3350
  21 N. Lincoln / Chanute, KS 66720