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Elmo, Kansas

Coordinates: 38°41′3″N 97°13′48″W / 38.68417°N 97.23000°W / 38.68417; -97.23000
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Elmo, Kansas
Unincorporated community
KDOT map of Dickinson County (legend)
KDOT map of Dickinson County (legend)
Elmo is located in Kansas
Elmo
Elmo
Elmo is located in the United States
Elmo
Elmo
Coordinates: 38°41′3″N 97°13′48″W / 38.68417°N 97.23000°W / 38.68417; -97.23000[1]
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountyDickinson
Elevation
[1]
1,355 ft (413 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code785
FIPS code20-20825
GNIS ID476978 [1]

Elmo is an unincorporated community in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States.[1] Elmo is located 15 miles (24 km) south of Abilene at the northwest corner of K-15 and K-4.

History

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1915 Railroad Map of Dickinson County

Early history

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See also: History of Kansas

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

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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 for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1857, Dickinson County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Elmo.

Elmo started about one mile from its current location, but the source of the name is unknown. When the Missouri Pacific Railroad was built through the area, the railroad didn't like the Elmo location because it was sloping ground, so it built a station at nearby Banner City (current location of Elmo).[2] The old Elmo post office was moved to Banner City around 1887. The name Banner City already existed in Jackson and Trego counties, so eventually the Elmo name replaced it.[3][4] The post office was opened in Elmo on December 16, 1884, and remained in operation until it was discontinued on May 6, 1966.[5] The railroad was removed in the 1990s.

20th century

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In 1899, Elias Sellards discovered a well-preserved trove of insect fossils about 3 miles south of Elmo in the Lower-Permian Elmo-Limestone member of the Wellington Formation.[3][6] In 1925, Frank M. Carpenter begins studying the fossil bed.[7][8] In 1928, Robert John Tillyard researched the same fossil bed.[9] The Elmo site has produced tens of thousands of specimens, with more than 150 species of insects described, including large fossils of Meganeuropsis.[10] The site is located on private land and closed to the public.[11]

21st century

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In 2014, a group of locals adopted the Sesame Street character Elmo as its mascot to be placed on a new sign.[12]

Geography

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Elmo is located at the northwest corner of K-15 and K-4 (also known as 600 Ave in Dickinson County), which is 15 miles (24 km) south of Abilene or 14 miles (23 km) west of Herington.

Education

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The community is served by Chapman USD 473 public school district.

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  • Welcome signage outside Elmo (2016)
    Welcome signage outside Elmo (2016)
  • Stone structure housing a statue and bell at the church (2016)
    Stone structure housing a statue and bell at the church (2016)
  • "Our Lady of the Farmland" statue (2016)
    "Our Lady of the Farmland" statue (2016)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Elmo, Kansas", Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior
  2. ^ Standard Atlas of Dickinson County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; Page 32 of 63; 1901.]
  3. ^ a b Kansas town of Elmo now quiet after a busy past; Lawrence Journal-World; January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. p. 584. ISBN 9780722249055.
  5. ^ "Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived)". Kansas Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  6. ^ "A type catalog of Fossil Invertebrates (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) in the Yale Peabody Museum - Postilla 209; Russell D. White; Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University; 1994/1995" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  7. ^ "The Permian Insect Fossils of Elmo, Kansas; Emporia State University; 2000". Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2005.
  8. ^ "Fossil Insects". Kansas Geological Survey (KU). Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  9. ^ R. J. Tillyard; Winds of Kansas.
  10. ^ The entomofauna of the Lower Permian fossil insect beds of Kansas and Oklahoma, USA; Roy J. Beckemeyer1 and Joseph D. Hall; 2007.
  11. ^ Elmo Fossil Beds; Winds of Kansas.
  12. ^ Anderson, Samantha (July 3, 2014). "Town of Elmo makes new sign". Elmo, Kansas: KWCH. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2017.

Further reading

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See also: List of books about Dickinson County, Kansas
  • Carlton Area History: Carlton - Elmo - Holland, Dickinson County, Kansas; Carlton Book Committee; Bell Books; 1995.
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